Who Feels Love
by DCFanatic4life
Summary: So Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus are together...wait, what? Chris Jericho and TRISH STRATUS are together? Yes, it's true! They are together! Oh my... Completed
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the real people portrayed in this story. Vince McMahon and WWE own their characters and the real people own themselves.

**To read the original version with song lyrics go to: bitter-solemnity. com /fics /WFL.php (just get rid of the spaces).**

A/N: Italics are dreams. And like I always say, if you want to be brutal, go ahead. :)

* * *

Chris let his lips linger on Trish's for a moment longer. Her lips tasted like strawberry lip-gloss and he had a hard time pulling away. She was lightly rubbing his cheek with her hand as his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him so their bodies were pressed tightly against each other.

"I don't want to go out there," she whined against his lips.

"Then don't," he answered.

"I have to."

"No you don't."

"I'll get in trouble," she said.

"No you won't."

"I don't think it'll look too good if my music goes off, people start cheering my arrival and then I'm back here making out with my boyfriend."

"Yeah, but it's good to me," he responded.

"Yeah, and you alone," she answered, "I better get out there."

"No," he complained, "Stay with me!"

"I wish I could, trust me," she said, kissing him softly, sucking on his bottom lip a little, "Wish me luck."

"Break a leg."

"Great, now I'm really going to break my leg because you're a jinx!"

"I am not a jinx!"

She laughed as a production assistant walked up and tapped her watch, silently telling Trish that her cue was coming up soon. Trish nodded then turned to Chris, rolling her eyes. He laughed and hugged her to him, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled away and gave him a final kiss before disappearing up the steps. He suddenly heard a burst of cheers that could only signal his arrival and he smiled to himself.

He and Trish were happy now, after a rocky start. He hadn't meant for her to hear that conversation with Christian, and after finding out that she had heard, he had been so contrite. It was true, it was a bet, and he and Christian were in on it. What they didn't plan on was the fact they would both fall for their prospective lays.

Trish had left before she could hear Christian and his conversation where they revealed that they had both fallen for the their divas and the bet had to stop. They had had to crawl back on their hands and knees to get back in favor with the girls, but they eventually came around. He remembered the smile on Trish's face as he gave her a bouquet of some of her favorite flowers. She had smiled softly and then leaned up to kiss him and he knew he was forgiven.

"What's up man?" Christian said, walking up with Lita, his arm looped around her bare waist.

"Just watching Trish's match," Chris answered.

"Are we still on for dinner later?" Christian asked.

"Actually, I think Trish and I are going to just hang out in the hotel room tonight, so I guess we'll pass."

"Oh, that's cool."

"How about breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"If you make it to breakfast," Lita joked.

"I'm choosing to ignore that comment," Chris responded, taking the high road on this one and not commenting.

"Only because you know that it's true, I'll be surprised if you guys are out of bed tomorrow morning in time for lunch," Christian laughed, "Because you two are like the..."

"Perfect couple," Lita finished.

"Oh we are, are we?"

"Definitely," Lita said.

"Oh, and the fact that you two just finished each other's sentence doesn't mean anything right?"

"Of course not. You see, we actually scripted this very conversation, and we planned to finish that sentence to show how much of a united front we have," Christian kidded.

"Yeah, and the conversation was slated to last five minutes and thirty-two seconds, so we've got two minutes and seventeen seconds to keep talking."

"You're rubbing off on her," Chris said, looking at Christian.

"Oh, like you aren't rubbing off on Trish," Christian answered, "Or rather you're rubbing something else on her."

"Ok, that was just gross," Chris balked, "So I'm going to end the conversation now, even though I'm sure it's a minute early."

"We've gotta go anyways," Christian said, "Have fun tonight Loverboy."

Chris shook his head at his friends as they walked away laughing with each other. He turned back to the monitor in time to see the referee raise Trish's arm up in victory. He grinned widely, happy that his girlfriend was having such success. She came bounding down the steps and raced over to him, launching herself into his arms.

He staggered back as she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him passionately. He supported her weight and kissed her back. He let his fingers weave through her hair as she unwrapped herself from around him and set herself upright.

"Well that was quite the hello," he said.

She giggled, "I'm just happy."

"Well, if you're happy, then I'm happy."

"Come on, I wanna go back to the hotel," she told him, grabbing his hand and forcefully dragging him off to get their stuff.

"That was a good movie," she said as the credits rolled.

"Yeah, if you like girly crap," Chris said, yawning dramatically, "Chick flicks, I will never get the appeal of them."

"Action flicks, I will never get the appeal of them," Trish shot back.

"I'm sorry, I just don't need to see 50,000 movies on how a guy can get a girl. I mean, with this one, you'd think that they would've realized they were in love with each other, and then said it, but no, of course not, they pretend like they hate each other, and argue back and forth, and then what happens, he KISSES her, TWICE, and he doesn't realize that maybe, just maybe he's in love with her."

Trish rolled her eyes, "It's not that. You see, the two of them, they just couldn't see it. The point is that everyone else saw it, that everyone else saw the chemistry between them, even when they couldn't."

"Yeah, they only finally get it after that chick has that failed marriage, and looks who's there to pick up the pieces, the guy who had just said he HATED her!"

"But he was really in love with her!" she protested.

"Well, he should've made that a little bit clearer you know, instead of humiliating her all the freaking time."

"He was only trying to hide his feelings for her."

"Yeah, and look how it ends, with a hug and a kiss. Who watches movies for hugs and kisses?"

"I do," Trish said, "But now I've learned that I won't be watching any movies with you ever again."

"I'm sorry, I just think if you're in love with someone, you say it, you just say it."

"I love you," Trish said.

Chris turned to her, dazed by the words she had just said to him. They had been going out for a couple of months, but those words had not been uttered, or even discussed between them. He sat frozen as she looked at him expectantly. He knew what she wanted to hear, but was he ready to say those words. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't form, getting stuck in his throat.

"You don't have to say it back," she said, "I just want you to know that it's out there."

"Oh."

"I mean, I do love you, but I don't want to rush your feelings. I know that you're a fairly...well, you don't do the mushy stuff well, so I understand if it takes you some time to say it."

"Yeah," he said, "I mean, yeah."

"Yeah," she repeated.

"Thank you though," he said, reaching over to hug her tightly. She returned his embrace enthusiastically, glad that she had told him the words. She had been wanting to say that for a while, but had been to afraid. His words had prompted her to say it though, and she was glad she had.

He laid there, Trish already asleep by his side. He was thinking about what she had said earlier. She loved him, it was a different feeling, knowing that someone loved him. He had only had one girl tell him she loved him before Trish, an old relationship that hadn't worked out. His mind summoning up images of a perfect life, the whole nine yards, the things that every person wanted. A family, a home, that perfect life, and it was with these thoughts that he fell asleep.

_He woke up and looked around. His bed was empty, save for him and he stretched slowly, getting the kinks of sleep out of his body. He sat up and smiled. It was looking like a beautiful day outside. He leaned against the headboard as a little blonde-haired boy ran into the room at full-speed, then jumped on the bed, crawling over to him._

_"Daddy!"_

_"Hey there Reid," he said, letting him sit next to him, "Where's Mommy?"_

_"She's downstairs. She said she had to do laundry."_

_"Oh, ok, and what do we have here?" he asked, eyeing the paper in his son's hand._

_"I was drawing," he said, "And Mommy told me to show you my picture."_

_"Ok, let's see it then."_

_The little boy opened up the piece of paper and showed off his picture proudly. Chris smiled at it, even though he couldn't tell what it was. It was just the fact that his son had drawn it that made it special._

_"Wow, I'm impressed."_

_"Yeah, I know," Reid said, and Chris chuckled. The cockiness definitely ran in the family._

_"Tell me about your picture."_

_"It's an airplane," Reid said, "Because you and Mommy go on airplanes a lot."_

_"Oh, and are we on this airplane?"_

_"No, it's a drawing," Reid said, "It's not real."_

_Chris laughed, "Silly me."_

_"Yes, silly you," a female voice said._

_Chris looked up at the woman standing in the doorway. That voice could only belong to one person, his wife. She was standing in the doorway, a toddler holding onto her hand tightly and clinging to her side. She bent down to scoop up the child and walked over to the bed._

_She was so beautiful, her eyes sparkling and her smile lighting up the room. He knew he was being cliché, but he couldn't help it when he looked at who he was privileged to spend his life with. It wasn't that she was just his wife, and best friend, but she had this motherly glow to her. Seeing her with that child in her arms, it made her breathtaking to him. He was so incredibly lucky to be in this position, with her, with their kids. It really was the perfect life._

_"It's about time you woke up."_

_"Oh, I'm not allowed to sleep in once in a while?" he countered._

_"With five and two year old little boys, I should think not," she said, "But God forbid you wake up and help me."_

_"Aww hon, I'm sorry," he pouted, "You wanna give me Brennan and I'll take care of him and Reid for the day."_

_"While I do what?" she asked, laughing._

_"Whatever you want to, go to a spa or something."_

_"Are you saying that I look bad?" she asked, her jaw dropping._

_"Never!" he laughed, "But if you want to go out, you can, I think I can handle my sons for the day."_

_"No, I don't want to go out, I hardly get to see you anyways, with you traveling so much. Now I know what it's like to be a WWE wife, even though I work in the company."_

_"So you're going to stay with us?"_

_"What would a day be without my boys?" she said._

_"Come over here," he beckoned._

_She sat down at the end of the bed, by his feet. She put Brennan on the bed, and he crawled over to the other side, giggling and lying down. Reid made funny faces at him, which caused him to laugh even more. Chris just watched the goings on, and felt suddenly content. He reached out and grabbed his wife's hand, smiling in her direction._

_"Happy are we?" she asked._

_"I'm always happy with you."_

_"Oh my, the mushiness is getting to you! What's wrong Jericho, you turning into some kind of softie?"_

_"With you around, I'm never soft," he winked._

_"With our kids in the room! For shame!" she said, her jaw dropping._

_"Oh you know me, I'm shameless," he said._

_"Is it any wonder that I love you?"_

_"You love me?"_

_She rolled her eyes, "Though God only knows why."_

_"I love you too snookums."_

Chris woke up from his slumber, and a smile passed over his lips. That dream had been so perfect. It must have been that chick flick they had watched last night, and the ensuing conversation. It had reappeared in his dreams, manifesting itself into his dreams, creating the perfect life in his eyes. The dream had reflected that. It reflected his own wants and desires so perfectly.

He saw those kids, and he wanted them, that perfect life in his dream. It had seemed so real, so almost true, that waking up really sucked. Of course, he could have that perfect life, he could have it soon if he so desired. He smiled as he thought about the dream again. How beautiful his wife was in it, how she was so perfect, and how she could match wits with him perfectly. So right for each other, so in tune with each other, that they could finish each other's thoughts, they could feel each other across a room.

Really the only thing that had been wrong was that the dream wasn't real. Well, that and one other thing. One thing that kind of puzzled him, but in another way didn't. When he pictured the perfect life, it was perfect, truly. He had the perfect house, the perfect car, perfect kids, who were adorable. He had the perfect job. But most importantly he had the perfect wife in his dream. She was the perfect woman to compliment him and who measured up to all his needs. He looked down at Trish, who was still asleep. Yeah, the woman in his dreams was the perfect woman for him.

Just one thing kept gnawing on him.

Why was the woman in his dreams Stephanie McMahon?

A/N: And so begins another fic by me, when I should be finishing other fics, but oh well. Ok, so here's the deal. This could end either way, seriously, no joke, I will try to take everyone's reviews into consideration. What? I heard a gasp, that must be the collective gasp of my loyal readers even contemplating the fact that I could have a non-smoochy fic. I know you guys! It's hard on me too, but if you want it Jericho/Steph, let me know. I mean, I CAN write non-smoochy fics, I don't like to, but I can, so let me know everyone. :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:  ::dies of shock::  Wow, just wow on the response to this story.  I'm so glad that you guys liked the first chapter.  I'm also surprised on how many of you are torn.  Well, we'll see how this fic goes and we'll see how you guys react to it and who knows how you'll all think by the end. ;)  Keep the reviews coming!  They're awesome, seriously!

~

Why was she in all his dreams?  It didn't make sense.  He and Stephanie weren't even friends.  Sure, they had worked together, once upon a time, but they had never really gotten to know each other.  There business partnership was over two years ago, and merely a memory to either party.  She had come back to Raw once her father had taken her back, but she was in a management position, and she only conversed with him when she needed to tell him something about a match or a show or whatever was on tap for him that particular night.  They didn't even travel in the same social circles.

So why couldn't he stop dreaming about her?

She was always there, and she was so sweet and kind in them.  The perfect wife, and he always felt content in his dreams.  He almost felt like chalking them up to nightmares, but they never turned dark or sinister.  They were always happy, more importantly and puzzling, HE was always happy.  Why was he so happy with someone he had never been with before in his life?

He liked Trish, he liked being with Trish, that much he knew.  Trish made him really happy, happier than he'd been in years.  He'd never had a long-term relationship because the girls he met wouldn't be in the business and it was hard to sustain a relationship when he traveled so much.  But with Trish, she was always here, and that made it so much easier.  They had fun together, but why wasn't he dreaming about her.

The dreams had persisted for a few days and they were driving him crazy.  He kept trying to think of different reasons why Stephanie would be in his dreams, but none of the reasons made sense.  Maybe because he saw her around the company and she had just transferred herself into his dreams.

"Yoo-hoo, Earth to Chris," Trish said, snapping in front of his face.

"What?"

"You were going space cadet on me," Trish said, "That's like the fifth time this week, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing," he lied.  He didn't think his girlfriend would appreciate him dreaming about another woman.  And not just some random woman, one of their bosses.

"Is this about what I told you the other night?" she asked, "Because I know that it must have been a shock, and if you don't want to hear it, then I can just keep it to myself."

"No, it's not that, I promise.  I'm still flattered by that."

"Of course, flattery gets you nowhere," she laughed, "So I'm not expecting an answer to what I said."

"You'll get an answer, when I'm good and ready to give you one."

She giggled, "You want to go downstairs and get a late dinner?"

"Sure," he grinned, getting up off the couch. 

He grabbed her hand and they walked downstairs together, going over to the café adjacent to the lobby.  They were seated immediately and Trish chattered non-stop about how she was having so much fun on the show with her feud against Victoria.  Chris grinned as he listened to her speak.  He just liked hearing the sound of her voice.

His attention was distracted as Stephanie walked into the café.  She was talking animatedly into her cell phone, her free hand waving impatiently.  She had a large bag with her, with files peeking out.  She must've been so busy, he thought to himself.  She was always busy in his dreams, busy with their kids and all that.  She also took care of him in his dreams, in just the right way.  She looked so involved in her work, as she sat down only to pull out some files to look at.  He wondered if she was even the type to get married.

"Cadet Jericho, permission to land," Trish said, grabbing his hand.

He turned his attention away from Stephanie, "Sorry about that."

Trish looked in the direction he had been looking at and saw Stephanie sitting alone at a table, writing something furiously into a file.  She turned back to Chris, "God, does she ever stop working?"

"I was just wondering that myself," he commented.

"I feel kind of bad, should we invite her over?" Trish asked.

Chris gave her a look, "But we're not even friends with her.  Not to mention she looks very busy."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Trish said, leaning across the table to kiss him, "But don't you think it'd be a nice gesture."

"You just want to suck up to the boss so she'll give you a title shot," Chris said knowingly.

"Hey!  Are you saying I have ulterior motives?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"I'm appalled you would question my motives on anything!" she said, pretending to be indignant.

"Sure, and while we're at it, we can question some other things," he joked.

"Oh, like how you leave your clothes everywhere," she argued, "That bugs me!"

He shook his head, "Get over it, you're with me now, you have to get used to it."

"Never!  I refuse to become accustomed to your sloppy ways!"

He laughed and kissed her temple, "If you want to invite her over, that's cool with me."

"Ok," she smiled, "You're such a kind man."

"Well, I've got to impress you somehow right?"

"Nah, you impress me all the time."

"Especially in the bedroom right?"

"Well, I was going to say that's the one place you don't impress me," she said, biting her lip, "But now that you said that………."

Chris grabbed her and tickled her into submission, "Stop Chris!"

He laughed and stopped tickling her, "Spoilsport."

"Shut up," she said, punching him in the arm, and then leaning her chair over towards where Stephanie was seated, "Hey Steph!"

Stephanie looked up and around to locate the voice that had just called for her, spotting Trish waving, she turned, "Trish, what can I do for you?"

"Well, Chris and I were just about to have lunch and we noticed that you were sitting alone, and wondered if you wanted to join us."

"Well, I have a lot of work to do," Stephanie told them.

"Oh, that's cool then, you don't have to," Trish said, smiling, "Just wanted to make sure that you weren't lonely or anything."

"Thanks for the offer though," Stephanie smiled, then went back to her work.

"No problem," Trish responded, turning back to Chris, she lowered her voice, "I feel bad for her."

"Why?"

"Well, she just works all the time.  Trying to stay on her father's good side and all that.  It's gotta be hard you know."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is," he said, glancing over at Stephanie.  Stephanie, who was so different from the woman in his dreams, though they were the same person essentially, well, no that wasn't true.  They were just how she really was and how he projected her to be.  They ate their food quickly, since it was so late they hadn't really ordered anything big.

"Come on Chris, I wanna go back upstairs and go to bed," Trish said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Fine," he said as the waiter set down a check.  He paid for the meal and got up to help Trish out of her seat. 

She smiled up at him, "You're such a gentlemen."

"Well, I figure that you can give me one of those Trish kicks if I didn't be as kind as possible to you."

She leaned up to kiss his cheek, "Yeah, and they'd hurt too."  
"Trust me, I know," he said, giving a wince as emphasis.

They walked by Stephanie and Trish said goodbye to her politely.  Stephanie looked up and smiled in response, giving a little wave of her hand.  Chris looked back at her as she worked.  Poor thing, she should take a break every once in a while.  He turned back to Trish as she laughed about some unfortunate person's hairdo that had just walked into the coffee shop.

"You're so mean," he said as they went into their hotel room.

"I'm not mean, that woman's hair was like three feet in the air!" she protested.

"So?  You didn't have to laugh and snicker."

"Oh puh-lease, maybe it got her a clue," Trish said, jumping on the bed and lying down on it.

Chris came over and stood over her, "You're such a bitch."

Her mouth dropped, "I can kick you in the crotch right now you know."

He grabbed her feet, "Yeah, try it."

She laughed, "Let go!"

He came down to the bed and hovered over her.  She smiled innocently up at him, her eyes dancing with laughter.  He gave her a look and then laughed as he leaned down to kiss her.  She wrapped her arms around and pulled him closer.  Forgetting about holding onto her feet, he let go, which gave her an opportunity to knee him in the stomach gently.  He pulled away and grabbed his mid-section.

"Oh, you're getting it now Stratus!"  

She gave him a shocked look and started moving up the bed.  He got on the bed and practically pounced on her.  She laughed as she tried to get out from under her, but he kissed her into submission.  She smiled against his lips.  This was definitely more fun than fighting playfully.

_Chris walked into the living room to find Stephanie sitting on the floor, laughing with Brennan, the younger of their two sons.  He was busy getting tickled by Stephanie and he giggled happily.  Chris leaned against the doorframe, watching the love of his life and his child as they played happily.  He had missed them._

_"Dada!" Brennan yelled as he spotted Chris._

_Stephanie turned her head, "Chris, you're home!"_

_"Yeah, I just got here," he said, gesturing to his suitcase which was next to him._

_She got up and ran over to him and he intercepted her before she could pitch them both on the ground.  He held her tightly, burying his face into her hair, taking in the scent that was definitely Stephanie.  It was a mixture of strawberries and bubble gum, the scent of the boy's bubble bath._

_"I've missed you so much!" she exclaimed._

_"Steph, I've only been gone for four days."_

_"Four days is too long, much, much, much too long."_

_"Oh, so was it me you missed, or the fact you had to take care of the boys alone that made you miss me?"_

_She pulled back and stuck her tongue out, "You."_

_"Sure it was, and what's with the tongue sticking out, you HAVE been around Bren and Reid too much."_

_"Well, you know, they are my life," she said, looking over to Brennan who was busy playing with some blocks, "Not that that's a bad thing."_

_"You know, you don't always have to watch them and stuff, I know you have work you have to do.  I can take Brennan to the park so you can do some work."_

_She shook his head, "And let you leave me before I even get to spend five minutes with you…not a chance!"_

_"But you have work?"_

_"Work's not important, you're important, Bren and Reid are  important, but work is the least of my worries.  We have a very competent staff."_

_"Well then, how about you come to the park with us?"_

_"Oh, so I get invited on the father/son trip."_

_"It wouldn't be the same without the voice of reason…screechy voice of reason."_

_"My voice is not screechy!" she, well, screeched._

_"Uh-oh Bren, let's get out of here," he laughed, rushing over to pick up his son, who hugged him immediately.  They started walking away._

_"My voice is not screechy," she mumbled to herself before following them._

Chris woke up with a start.  

Damn it, this needed to end.

Get out of my dreams Stephanie McMahon.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:  Forgot to say this last chapter, but kudos to the people who picked up on what the chick flick was. ;)

~

This was starting to get out of hand and he wanted it to end.  Stephanie needed to get out of his dreams or else he would go absolutely insane.  The dreams were plaguing his mind, and the reasons behind the dreams were even more puzzling.  If he could just get her out of his head, then he knew that he'd be alright, then everything could go back to normal and he and Trish could just be happy with each other, with no interference. 

He knew that Trish was starting to wonder about him.  He was being distant, thinking, always thinking about why he was being tormented through his subconscious.  It was like Trish belonged to him during the day and Stephanie belonged to him during the night.  That was a weird thought, but it was true nonetheless, Stephanie was there, in his dreams, every damn night.

He didn't want Trish to think that he was being this way because of what she had told him a couple weeks ago.  He was extremely happy that she had told him she loved him, and was flattered that he had gained so much feeling with her.  He hadn't said it back, not for lack of liking her, but because he wanted to be sure that he loved her.  He cared about her enough to not want to say the words without meaning them completely.

So there he was, staring up at the ceiling, willing sleep not to come to him, because he knew the moment that he closed his eyes that she would be there, and he didn't want her to be there.  He had nothing against Stephanie, but he desperately wanted her out of his dreams.  Eventually though, before he could stop it, not that he could, sleep came to him, and once again, he was transported to a fantasy world.__

_She came out of the bathroom, and he almost had to grab his heart because she looked so incredibly beautiful.  It wasn't even the dress or the makeup or the hair that made her that way, it was…her.  The way her face glowed, the smiled plastered on it, he wanted to get down on his knees and thank God once again that she was his._

_She grinned as his eyes widened, and gave a laugh that filled the air and encompassed him.  She was in this black dress, that tied around her neck and it looked lovely on her, while her hair fell in ringlets over her shoulders.  She came over to him and gave him a soft kiss._

_"You like?"_

_"Oh yeah," he said, his voice almost cracking._

_She smiled even wider, "I bought it because I knew you would like it."_

_"I love it," he said, running his hands over her bare shoulders, shrugging the hair off of them so they fell down her back, "You are going to be the most beautiful woman at the party tonight."_

_"Good, that's exactly what I was going for."_

_He laughed, "And I get to show you off."_

_"I'm a trophy wife!" she teased, acting shocked._

_"Yeah, but I'm a trophy husband," he answered._

_"Oh come on, all those women should feel jealous," she said, then proceeded to undo his tie._

_"What're you doing?"_

_"You fixed it wrong."_

_She took his tie and started fixing it deftly as he gazed down upon her.  How was it that the littlest things made him love her all the more?  She finished quickly and smoothed his tie down against his shirt.  She looked up at him and caught him gazing at her in rapture.  She gave him a curious head tilt and he just stared at her, unbelieving to the fact that this was his wife._

_"Have I suddenly turned green?" she asked, wondering why he was staring at her so oddly._

_"No," he shook his head, then he began kissing her, "You…I--I'm just so lucky is all."_

_"You're damn straight you're lucky," she said, flipping her hair and walking downstairs, calling over her shoulder, "I'm just going to say goodbye to the boys."_

_Chris watched her walk down the stairs, smiling to himself before rushing to follow her.  He caught up to her as she reached the bottom of the stairs and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked to the downstairs playroom.  Once inside, her face lit up as she saw Brennan and Reid playing with Chris's mother._

_"Babies, Mommy and Daddy are leaving," Stephanie said gently and motherly._

_"Bye Mommy," Reid said as he sat there watching some video._

_"Mama!" Brennan said, running over to her, "No go!!"_

_"Oh sweetie, Mommy and Daddy will be back before you know it and we'll come say goodnight to you, ok?"_

_"Dada," Brennan said, "No go pwease."_

_Chris picked the little boy up easily, "Bren, we'll be back and don't you wanna stay with Grams?"_

_"I stay with you!" he said fiercely._

_"Honey you can't," Stephanie said, ruffling his hair, "But we aren't leaving you.  We'll be back."_

_"Here, let me take him," Chris's mother said, taking Brennan from Chris's arms, "We'll have fun tonight Brennan, Grams promises."_

_"Ok," he said, sniffling a little._

_Stephanie looked at him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "You be a big boy ok, and be nice to Grams."_

_"Uh huh."_

_"Bye," Chris said, giving him a hug, "Bye Reid."_

_"Bye Daddy," Reid said waving._

_Stephanie and Chris left and headed to the reception party at Titan Towers.  They were having an annual party for the wrestlers and everyone, just to show their appreciation.  Stephanie and Chris walked inside, the party already in full swing.  Stephanie looked around, waving to various people as Chris just looked around._

_"Chris, I'm going to go find Mom and Daddy and tell them we're here ok?" she said, tugging on his hand._

_"Ok, I'll be around," he said to her, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the lips._

_She walked away then and he just stared at her, still captivated by how wonderful she looked that evening.  He didn't notice a hand running up his suit jacket until he looked to the side and into the face of Trish Stratus.  She was, of course, dressed like a slut, in a red dress that only went up to the bottom of her ass, and low cut so she was squeezing every ounce of cleavage out that she could.  She held two champagne glasses in her hands._

_"Trish," he said politely._

_"Chris, I thought you'd never arrive," she told him, handing him the other champagne glass._

_"Well, of course I'd be here," he said, setting the glass down, not feeling like a drink at the moment.  Or in this case, not feeling like a drink that Trish had handed to him.  She could be drugging him or something._

_"You look so sexy," she purred, rubbing his chest._

_He pulled her hand off, "No touching the merchandise."_

_"Oh, but I wanna have a little taste," she said, licking her red lipstick covered lips._

_"Yeah, and I don't just give that out thanks," he said, trying to walk away._

_"Oh, please," she said pathetically._

_"Look Trish, I can't stand you ok?  I love Stephanie, you know, my wife, the same woman I've been married to for seven years, and for you to even think I would take a glance in your direction is delusional on your part!"_

Chris opened his eyes.  This was too far now.  He was dreaming of Trish being a slut.  This was not good at all.  Obviously this was like bizarro-world, where he loved Stephanie and hated Trish.  That had to be what it meant after all, he liked Trish, she was his girlfriend and Stephanie was nothing.

"Up and at 'em sleepy head," Trish said, walking out of the bathroom already dressed.

"Huh?" was his lame response.

"We have to go to the arena for the show," she told him as she flossed her teeth, "I let you sleep in because I knew you were up last night, though why you were up I have no idea."

"Just thinking," he responded, "What time is it?"

"11:45," she told him, "What were you thinking about?"

"Oh," he said, thinking quickly, "Just the show and stuff, opponents who I'd like to face.  No biggie."

"You shouldn't let that keep you up," she said, disappearing into the bathroom for a moment before coming back out, "You can beat anyone."

He laughed and got out of bed, "You seem to think awful highly of me."

"The highest," she smiled, walking over to kiss him and hand him his pants, "Now get ready or we'll be late."

"Oh, we can be late one time," he said, grinning lecherously at her.

She laughed and he pulled her to him.  She wrapped her arms around his waist as he held her tightly.  He leaned down to kiss her with a passion, and she responded with her own vigor.  They fell together on the bed, making the unconscious decision to be late.

When they finally did arrive at the arena, Chris left Trish to talk with Lita and then went off to find out what he would be doing for the evening.  The production person told him to go see Stephanie for his assignment and he groaned.  She was the last person he wanted to see right now.  He trudged down to her office and knocked on the door, hoping she wouldn't be there and he could avoid seeing her altogether.

"Come in!" No such luck, he thought as he walked in.  Stephanie looked up and gave him a friendly smile.  He found himself trying not to cringe.

"I was told to come see you," he said, his voice tight and controlled.

"Oh yes, well, we wanted you to do a Highlight Reel tonight and we just wanted to get some input on who you should interview."

"Whoever," he said, disinterested.

"Do you not care?"

"Nope, not a care in the world," he shrugged, "Not a single one."

"Chris Jericho, are you trying to cop an attitude with me?" she asked, asserting her seniority.

"No," he mumbled, frustrated now.

"Well, you don't have to act all mean because I asked your opinion," she snapped.

"Just get the hell out of my dreams!" he exclaimed.

Her eyes widened in surprise as his widened in shock of what he had just said.  Oh please, let him have only said that in his mind and not said that in real life.  He closed his eyes, hoping when he opened them, he'd be anywhere else.  He opened them again and saw Stephanie still staring at him.

"You dream about me?" she asked.

"No, of course not," he said, shaking his head quickly.

"Oh my God, you dream about me!" she cried out.

"Ok, fine!  Yes, I dream about you ok!  I'm not happy about it!"

She laughed, she just sat there and laughed at him.  He stared at her in disbelief.  Here he was, dreaming about their perfect life and she had the audacity to laugh at him.  He sat down across from her, and sighed loudly.  She just kept on laughing, clutching her side as tears came to her eyes.

"Look, it's not funny ok," he muttered.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes, "Really, I'm sorry, it's just a shock is all."

"I want you out of them, I don't like dreaming about you."

"I'm…sorry," she said awkwardly, not knowing what else would suffice, "Are they good dreams?"

"Yeah," he said, "We're married."

"Married?!" 

"Yeah."

"Wow, so I'm your dream wife."

"I'm glad you're getting a kick out of this."

"Chris, this is nothing to get so worked up about.  So you had a dream that we were married, that's not a big deal, it's probably because you see me all the time," she told him, thinking logically.

"I've been dreaming about you for the last few weeks."

"Ok," she nodded, "Now that might be a problem."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, "Is that your advice?"

"Advice, that was an observation."

"Whatever."

"Hey, don't get pissy with me, I'm your dream wife," she joked, "Do we have dream sex?"

He didn't answer.  Truth was, he had actually had dreams about having sex with Stephanie.  Those were the ones that scared him the most, because what if this was lust he felt for Stephanie.  That couldn't be it, he'd always decide, there was no way.

"Oh my God!" she screamed, "We've had sex!"

"Only once or twice," he said.

"Was I good?" she asked curiously.

"I'm taking the 5th."

"I was good!  You dreamed I was good in bed!" she squealed.

"I never should've told you," he mumbled.

"Look, Chris, I'm flattered, but really, dreams are just what your mind thinks up at the time.  You're happy with Trish, and that's cool, the dreams will go away eventually."

"God, I just want you out of them," he said exasperated.

"What, you think that I'm going into your room at night and whispering for you to dream about me or something?"

"Are you?"

"Oh man, Chris, get a grip, these are just dreams," she said, "They don't mean a thing!"

"But what if they do?  What if I'm attracted to you?"

"Are you?" she asked, repeating a question he had asked.

"No, I mean, I don't look at you and get the butterflies."

"Maybe the dreams are trying to tell you that you don't belong with Trish," she suggested.

"But I'm happy with her."

"I don't know Chris!  I'm trying to throw out ideas for you!"

"This is not helping!"

"Well, what do you want me to do!?!  Fine, here, I'll get a dream divorce."

"We can't get a dream divorce," he said, "We have dream kids.  It would devastate them."

"Aww," she cooed, "We have dream kids?"

"Yeah, two boys.  Brennan, he's two, and Reid, he's five."

"Those are great names, dream me has taste."

"Yeah, and they're adorable, they both look like me, except Brennan has brown hair, and he's a charmer."

"Am I a good dream mom?"

"You're the best dream mom," he said.

"Oh, well, now we can't get a dream divorce."

"Well, I'm always happy in my dreams," he said, "So I mean, there's that."

"Yeah," she said, "Whoa, that was like the weirdest conversation I've ever had."

He laughed, "Oh, well, like I was saying, I want you out."

"Chris, I don't know how to do that."

"Well, maybe since you and I talked about it, I can move on," he said brightly.

Maybe that was the key, if he talked to Stephanie than she would be out of his dreams.  They had just established the fact that there was nothing between them and there never would be.  Now he would probably dream about Trish now that this was all over with.

"Yeah, maybe," she said, "It's been nice being dream married to you."

"How would you know about it?" he joked.

"Oh, because I'm sure we were good."

"Yeah, but now I can move on."

"Good luck with that."


	4. Chapter 4

"So what did she want?"

Chris looked down at Trish as she stood up to hug him in greeting.  He hugged her tightly, glad that he had let Stephanie know what had been going on between them.  Well, at least in his dreams, since there was nothing going on in real life.  He kissed Trish's head.  She pulled away from him and looked up, smiling sweetly.

"So what did Stephanie want?"

"Oh, you know, the usual, she wanted a little sex, so I took her on her desk, and came back in time to have fun with you before I go out there.  So what do you say?"

She smacked him in the chest, "Not funny!"

"Really, I thought it was funny," he said, tapping his chin in thought, "I'll have to work on my delivery next time."

"So really, what did she want?" 

"We just needed to discuss the Highlight Reel tonight."

"Sounds boring."

"Just the usual."

"So who are you going to have on the show tonight?"

"Well, I was thinking about having a lovely blonde, who I happen to like very much," he told her.

"Me!?!" she asked excitedly.

"No, Christian, but you'll work too," he winked.

She gave him a dirty look for a moment before smiling at him, "What am I going to do with you Chris Jericho?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, can it be rough and naughty?"

She flipped him off casually as she strolled away from him.  Chuckling to himself, he chased after her and grabbed her from behind.  She had been expecting this and didn't even bat an eyelash.  He leaned in and started ravishing her neck and she tried to squirm her way out of his arms, but he was just too overpowering for her.  So she just laughed and let him kiss her, as he moved his way up to her jaw, then to her cheek, before finally giving her a heart-stopping kiss on the lips.

"Oh, I so wanna be on the Highlight Reel tonight," she whispered.

"That's not the only thing you wanna be on is it?" Jericho asked huskily

"Mmm, now, it's not," she whispered back at him, closing her eyes.

"Jericho, five minutes until you're on!" 

Jericho sighed as he heard the production assistant tell him that he was supposed to go on.  He had wanted a bit more time with Stephanie……….wait, no, Trish.  Damn it, his dreams were now interfering with his real life.  Thank God those were going to stop soon.  Tonight he hoped.  He pulled away from Trish, and she sighed at the loss of his lips on hers.  She opened her eyes and gave him a rueful smile.

"Work, sometimes I just don't want to do it," he told her.

"You and me both, especially at times like this," she told him, grabbing his hand, "But at least we can work together tonight."

"Yeah, that's a plus, and then we can do other stuff later."

"Do you ever get your mind out of the gutter?"

"With you around, not a chance," she said, kissing her softly.

Trish smiled up at him, it was times like this she was glad that she had forgiven him.  He took her hand and they walked out to the gorilla to let him await his cue.  His music started up and he went out in his usual stance.  He walked down the ramp, his ego on display for all to see.  He stepped into the ring, smirking as he regarded the audience.  The cheers were welcoming as he held his arms out, basking in their glow.

"Well, well, well, all it takes for you to cheer me is to come out with a pretty girl on my arm every week," he started, "If I had known that, I would've found me a pretty lady much sooner."

The crowd laughed and then cheered.

"And since I owe this woman so much credit as it is, I think that I should bring her out here.  So let's make this Highlight Reel the Trish appreciation part of your Raw.  Trish, care to join us."

Trish's music started up and she walked out there, a slight blush on her cheeks.  She had just been expecting to be another one of Chris's guests, not to have him talk about her so glowingly.  He held the ropes for her as she entered the ring and he grabbed her hand, pulling her to him as he kissed her soundly on the mouth.  She reached up to run her fingers through his loose hair, kissing him back, almost forgetting there was a crowd there in the first place.  He pulled away and licked his lips as the crowd ooh'ed and aww'ed.

"Ok, I think that's enough of a show for tonight," Chris said as he led Trish over to the chairs.

Someone had left roses on his seat, and he figured someone had gotten those very quickly so they could play up Trish's part on the show.  He grabbed them off of his seat and went up to Trish handing her the flowers.  Her face turned into a full out blush as she took them from him and sat down on the seat.  He smiled back at her.

"So Trish, how does it feel to be dating a Living Legend such as myself, I figure it must be quite the honor for you."

"Oh, you have no idea the expectations that I have to live up to," she said, sighing dramatically, "Sometimes I think to myself, what can I do so that I may be on level with the great Chris Jericho."

"Ahh yes, many other people do the same thing, and they just can't measure up, but I think that you're perfect the way you are," he said as the crowd cooed.

"That's so sweet of you to say Chris," she smiled, "But still, it's difficult having to put up with you, because you are just so great."

"Oh please," he said, dismissing her with the wave of his hand, "Stop flattering me, this show isn't about me, it's about the guests……….and just a little about me, since I am your esteemed interviewer."

"Don't you two look so cozy," a voice came from the top of the ramp.

Trish and Chris's heads swiveled to see Hunter standing at the top of the ramp.  As if this man didn't bug him enough, now he had to interrupt his show too.  Chris got off of his chair and went to lean on the ropes, glaring in Hunter's direction the entire way.  Leave it to the lummox to interrupt him.

"What the hell do you want?" Chris asked angrily.

"Well, I just wanted to see the happy couple up close and personal.  You can't fault me for that can you?"

"Get out of here," Chris sneered.

"Oh, but why, I mean, I did used to be with Trish………."

"That's a lie!" Trish said, jumping up and grabbing a microphone, "That is a lie!"

"Is it Trish, because I can remember some steamy, passionate nights, I think this was in between you doing Vince and you getting with that weirdo Jeff Hardy," Hunter said.

Trish paled slightly, "Shut up!  Just shut up!"

"You heard her Hunter, shut up and get the hell out of here."

"Sorry to bring it up Trish, but don't you want Jericho to know what you've done behind closed doors."

"I don't care what or who's she's done," Jericho argued, "She's with me now!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," Hunter smirked, then turned and left.

Chris took Trish's hand, through with this interview.  She followed wordlessly until they reached backstage.  She was afraid that he was mad at her for her past indiscretions, especially because she knew that he disliked Hunter greatly.  She bit her lip as she regarded his taut features.  She was terrified that he would break up with her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He faced her, "What's there to be sorry about?"

"For being with Hunter," she said meekly.

"That's in the past," he told her, taking her face into his hands, "I don't care about the past, because you're with me now.  I mean, so what?  You were with Hunter, I don't care, as long as you don't get with him now, I have no problem with it."

"I would never cheat on you," she told him, smiling slightly.

"That's all I ask," he told her, "Now let's get out of here and go back to the hotel and we'll live in the present."

"That was cheesy," she giggled.

"But hopefully effective."__

_Chris opened the door for her.  She sighed and took a deep breath.  She hadn't been on the road in it seemed like forever.  It had really only been seven months, but those were seven long months.  With Reid starting school, she had to be at home, she didn't want some nanny to raise her kids, and neither did Chris._

_"I missed it," she told him as they walked to the locker room that would be Chris's for the evening._

_"I know you did, but really, what could you do?"_

_"I know, Reid is more important, and he always will be, but sue me, this used to be my life.  This arena used to be my home."_

_"This particular arena?  Wow, where did you sleep?  And did you live on just nachos and other concession stand items?"_

_"You're such a jerk sometimes," she said, shoving his side._

_"Mama!" Brennan said, pulling on Stephanie's collar._

_"Yeah honey?"_

_"Go down."_

_"What do we say?"_

_"Peese," he said smiling._

_"Ok," she answered, setting him down on the ground where he toddled towards his older brother who was waiting impatiently for him to catch up._

_"Hey you two, where do you think you're going?" Chris asked._

_"We wanna go find Grandma and Grandpa," Reid said, "Grandpa told us last time that he would have candy for us!"_

_"Did you ask Mommy if you could have candy?" _

_"Mommy, please," Reid said, giving her the patented Jericho pout._

_"Yes, go ahead, BUT you have to wait for us to take you to Grandpa, because I don't want you to be running around here and getting lost," Stephanie said._

_"Ok," he answered as he waited for her, still holding Brennan's hands._

_"I'm going to go with them, you coming?" Stephanie asked, turning to Chris._

_"I'll catch up, I just want to drop off my stuff," he answered._

_"Ok."_

_She leaned into him and gave him a peck on the cheek and then a kiss on the lips.  She walked over to Brennan and Reid and took each one by the hand and they walked off, Reid talking a mile a minute at Stephanie, who just smiled down at him lovingly.  Chris turned the corner to walk to his locker room.  He started hearing strange moans and groans and he looked around, wondering where the sound was emanating from.  He shrugged and kept walking, turning the corner and almost wishing he hadn't._

_Trish had her back to the wall and was getting pushed up against it by the guy she was currently making out with.  She had her legs wrapped around Hunter Hearst Helmsley and he held her against the wall as they got hot and heavy.  Chris wanted to get to his locker room, but he'd have to walk past them.  He decided he'd just have to do it quick and painless, so he ducked his head and walked quickly by them._

_Trish broke away from Hunter, "Chris, nice to see you…alone."_

_"I'm not alone tonight."_

_"Oh, is that whore you call a wife with you?" Hunter asked, "The whore I call an ex-wife."_

_"The only whore here is the one you're currently pressing up against the wall."_

_"Oh, he brought the little wifey," Trish said, fake coyly, "Did you bring the runts too?"_

_Chris stalked up to them, "Don't you even fucking dare talk about my kids.  I don't care if you talk shit about me or Stephanie, ore both of us, but the second you bring up my kids, I will not tolerate it."_

_"Ooh, we hit a soft spot," Hunter said._

_"Fuck you."_

_"Ooh, I'd like that," Trish said, "Meet me up in my hotel room later, maybe Hunter can join us."_

_Chris shook his head in repulsion and walked away from them, throwing his stuff down.  He was still pissed they had brought up his kids, that was the one thing that could set him off.  He had calmed down a lot since he had gotten married and had kids, but there were certain things that would get under his skin and that was one of them. _

_God he hated those two._

Chris woke up with a start, actually bolting out of bed.  He cursed to himself.  They should've been gone!  Why weren't they gone?  He had talked to Stephanie they had ironed everything out, had a good laugh over it and that was supposed to be the end, and yet here he was, still dreaming the same dreams.  Well at least Hunter kept his place in both the real world and the dream world.  He was a jackass in both of them.

"Chris?" Trish asked sleepily.

"Yeah," he said, lying back down slowly and taking her in his arms.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, "Just a bad dream."

"You wanna tell me about it?" she asked before giving a huge yawn.

He thought over what he had dreamt about.  Maybe he should tell Trish, maybe that would've been the right thing to do, to let her know what was going on inside his brain.  They could solve this puzzle together.  Of course, there was always the chance that she wouldn't understand and think he had something going on with Stephanie.  Yeah…that wouldn't be good at all.

"Nah, it's nothing you should worry about."


	5. Chapter 5

"They didn't go away!"

Stephanie looked up at the obviously exasperated Chris Jericho, who stood just inside her door.  He looked like he hadn't slept at all.  She gestured to the seat next to her and he sat down heavily.  He leaned his head back on the couch, liking that it was cushy enough for his head to sink in a little bit, almost like a pillow, he thought as he closed his eyes.  Speaking of pillows, a bed sounded nice right about now.  He didn't move for a moment and she though he had fallen asleep.

"Did you hear what I said?" he asked.

She jumped a bit, "Yeah, I heard you."

"So?"

"So?  So what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know!  Make them disappear?"

"Yeah, because I have some magical wand that allows me to change your dreams."

"Have you ever dreamed about me?" he asked, looking at her imploringly.  Maybe he wasn't the only one afflicted by these puzzling dreams.

"Yeah…but you were usually getting your ass kicked."

"Great, so I'm just a freak!"

"You're not a freak.  You're just having odd dreams."

"About you!"

"Do you love Trish?" Stephanie asked curiously.

He looked at her, startled that she would ask such a personal question, especially because they were even friends.  But then again, he was telling her about his dreams, most of which included her in some capacity, even them in sexual situations, which he turned a cute shade of red at when he thought about them.  They had transcended that line that separated friend from acquaintance.  He could actually consider Stephanie his friend now.

"I might."

"Well, that basically means you don't," she replied.

"No, it doesn't, I said I might."

"It's not a maybe question, it's a yes or no question, and since you obviously couldn't say yes, that means, no, you don't love her."

"But you don't know anything about us," he contested.

"I don't have to.  Chris, look at the facts…you're dreaming about me, why?  Who the hell knows.  You aren't in love with her, you pretty much said it outright.  Maybe things are moving too fast with you and Trish."

"You think?" he asked, his eyebrows creasing as he thought hard.

"Maybe, I don't know, I think it was like one day you weren't a couple, the next you're all over each other."

"Since when did you become a relationship counselor?"

"Having a failed marriage gives you a sense of enlightenment," she answered, jokingly, but with a tone of bitterness.

"Maybe if I talk to you about it, then they'll go away."

"You can try," she shrugged, "I guess you can tell me about the dreams, if you feel comfortable enough to do so.  It would probably be better this way, because then you wouldn't be keeping it inside."

"Yeah, and then I could at least have a sort of clear conscience when I go back to Trish," he told her.

"You aren't actually like cheating on her or anything Chris," Stephanie said, "We haven't actually had sex."

"Thank God for that."

"Hey, I'll have you know, I'm really good in bed, I haven't gotten a single complaint," she asserted.

"Stephanie, that was so easy that I couldn't take that joke, but know there was a joke in there somewhere," he said.

She scowled at him, "Very funny.  Take whatever joke you want, it's not like I can't counter it."

"Ok, so next time I have a dream, I'll let you know."

"Yeah."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow."

Chris got up and left, actually happy that he could confide in Stephanie now.  It might be better this way, he could separate his dream world from his real world.  All he wanted was Trish, she was all he needed and if he had to dream about Stephanie forever, so be it, as long as he had Trish with him in real life.  She was so important to him now, and he couldn't lose her, not over something so incredibly stupid.

"Where've you been?" Trish asked, pulling on her jacket that she always wore to the ring.

"Just talking with Stephanie."

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Stephanie huh?"

"Yeah."

"What about?"

"Just shooting the breeze."

"You and Stephanie?"

"Yeah," he said, "She's not too bad once you talk to her.  I think she really is just into her work too much.  She wants to please her dad."

"That's nice of you to try to befriend her," Trish said, coming up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist, "You're such a good person."

"Yeah, I pride myself on that," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

"That's why I love you," she told him, kissing him quickly, "Because you just…you, you surprise people Chris Jericho, who knows whether it's good or bad, but you just…you surprised me, because I never dreamed you could be such a good man, but you are."

"Well…I don't know what to say to that."

"You don't have to say anything," she responded, "I just want to throw that out there.  You deserve to know that."

"She looks lonely sometimes," he admitted.

Then he thought about it.  Maybe that's why he dreamed about Stephanie.  Yes, he was reaching here, or maybe it was so intricate a reason, that it was the truth.  Stephanie didn't have a lot of friends, thanks to her callous ex-husband.  Then her father had turned on her and she had been forced to leave, and was probably mostly by herself those long months she had been gone.  Now she was back, and nobody really paid attention to her because she was always working.

Maybe Chris had seen that and felt so bad for her; that he wanted to help her.  Then in his dreams, they were simply manifestations of what he felt for her, which was really just pity.  He wanted to help her, but it had been such an unconscious effort on his part, his brain telling him to help one Stephanie McMahon from whatever hole she had dug herself into.  He smiled as he realized the real reasons of these dreams.  They had to be the reason. 

That night, they came again.  They came every night, relentlessly, never fading, never being forgotten.  Sometimes you forget dreams, but these dreams, they stuck with him, aiding him, hopefully, in his goal to become Stephanie's friend.  That's what Stephanie needed, she needed a friend, someone she could confide in, the dreams…they were…guides.__

_She looked around hesitantly, as if she were embarrassed or something.  He would never get that about her, the hesitation.  She always, if only for a moment, doubted her own beauty.  He still found her beautiful, even after seven years of marriage, even after trials and tribulations, fights and making up.  Then she would put up that strong front that he knew hid just below her surface._

_"Do you remember when we first got together?" Chris asked as Stephanie leaned against him on the plane to the next show.  The boys were sleeping in the seats across from them, laid out on the seats._

_"Of course," she said, "What?  Do you think I'm so old that I'd forget that?"_

_"You?  Old?  Not a chance, you're still young and beautiful."_

_"You flatter me too much," she said, "But after two kids, I can't be as beautiful."_

_"I beg to differ," he told her._

_"If you say so.  So why'd you bring up the past?"_

_"I was just thinking about it."_

_"Why?  Realizing what a huge mistake you made by getting with me and marrying me?  Because it's a little too late to take that all back," she said, turning to face him._

_"I think that has to go down as one of the best decisions of my life," he told her honestly, "Because if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have any of this."_

_"Me as a human blanket," she said, snuggling up to him._

_"Well, yeah, that," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "But us…our life…the boys…I mean, if I never asked you out, then I guess I wouldn't know any better if I had never gotten any of this, because you can't predict stuff like this, but I…it's hard to explain."_

_"It's just that thing, where you realize that your life has turned out just the way you pictured it, only better?"_

_"How can you say what I want to better than I can say it?" he asked._

_She looked up at him, "Because I think after being with you for so long, you don't have to think so hard for me to get things, because I already get them."_

_"How did I end up with you?" he said, nuzzling his cheek against her head._

_"I think you won me in bingo."_

_"No, no, I think it was a poker game, thank God for that straight flush, or I never would've won you.  Not to mention that really nice watch."_

_"Yeah, I think the watch was more valuable don't you think?"_

_"Nah, I'd take you over a watch any day.  Now if it was a new car…"_

_She nudged his arm, "Jerk."_

_"Yeah, but I'm your jerk."_

_"Yeah…if I hadn't ended up with you, who knows where I would've ended up," she pondered._

_"On a street corner somewhere," he mused._

_"Oh, ok, yeah, I'd be selling my services to any guy that came along."_

_"Yeah, I figured as much, luckily you didn't have to go down that career path, I'd hate to think what kind of diseases you could pick up."_

_"You're weird," she laughed, causing Brennan to wake up and yawn sleepily._

_"Mama loud."_

_Stephanie laughed a little, "Oops, sorry baby."_

_"Be shh," he said, making the shh gesture to her._

_"Yeah Mama, you are so loud," Chris added._

_"I don't need the added commentary from you Jericho," Stephanie said snidely, or at least pretending to be._

_"Bren, Mommy's mad at me," Chris said, "Tell her to forgive me."_

_"Daddy's being mean to me Brenny," Stephanie said pouting._

_Brennan looked from his mom to his dad, as if deciding who he should believe.  Stephanie laughed as Chris tried to match her pout.  Brennan eventually held his arms out towards Stephanie.  Stephanie stuck her tongue out at Chris as she unhooked her seatbelt to go pick up Brennan, and brought him over to sit on her lap, where he snuggled against her._

_"No mean to Mama," Brennan told Chris._

_"Ooh," Stephanie said, "Looks like someone got told."_

_"You don't like me anymore Bren?"_

_"No, I like," he said, "Like Mama too."_

_"Well that's good to hear, because I was thinking of getting rid of her, but if you like her so much, I guess we'll keep her."_

_"Mama no go!" he said, clinging to Stephanie._

_"Oh sweetie, Daddy was just kidding, I'm not going anywhere.  He was just being mean."_

_Chris sent a pout in Stephanie's direction and she shook her head as she hugged Brennan to her.  Chris kept pouting, getting more and more pathetic as he went along.  Stephanie rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss him, their lips meeting in a sweet kiss._

Trish's arm rolled over onto Chris and he woke up, except this time, the dreams weren't that unsettling.  He smiled to himself and pulled Trish closer.  Stephanie was someone who he wanted friendship with.  Trish was the woman he wanted to share his life with.  It was all so simple now.  He leaned down to kiss Trish's head as she stirred in her sleep, coming to look at him, her eyes opening a little.

"What's up?" she asked.

"You're beautiful."

"Thanks," she said, not knowing how else to respond, "I love you."

"I know," he told her, kissing her head, "And I'm getting there."

"Good, I can't wait to hear those words."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, keep them coming. :D

~

Trish and Jericho walked hand-in-hand into the arena the next Raw.  Things had been going better than ever since last week, and Chris's revelation about his and Stephanie's relationship.  Figuring that he was just supposed to be her friend had afforded him vast amounts of comfort when he awoke from his dreams.  Not to mention he was making progress, he hadn't had one sex dream since he had figured out the real reason for his dreams.  That was a step up for him.

"So how about you come to my house this weekend?" Trish asked, looking up at him, question in her eyes.

"Well, I'll have to look at my schedule," he answered, then paused, "Well, would you look at that, I'm all free."

She laughed, "Good."

"Why your house?"

"Well, we always go to Florida, and I just wanted to go to my house for a change, is that a problem?"

He bent down to kiss her slowly, letting his tongue graze her lips, "Not a problem at all."

"Get a room."

Chris and Trish looked up and saw Christian standing there, Lita at his side like usual.  Christian was smirking at the two of them, as Lita whispered something in his ear, causing him to smirk even more.  Chris gave him a dirty look, taking a good guess as to what Lita had just whispered to him.

"We have a room, we just didn't feel like using it at the moment because we love to torture you with the public displays of affection."

"And torture us it does," Christian answered, "We don't need to see you guys with your tongues in each other's throats, we know you like to play hockey Chris, but how about keeping it on the ice?"

"Did you hear that Chris?  Christian wants us to make out on the ice, that could turn potentially kinky," Trish said.

Lita laughed, "Come on Trish, there's something I want to show you."

"Cool," Trish said, then leaned up to kiss Chris quickly, "See you in a while babe."

"Ok, have fun."

"I plan on it!" she called out as she jogged to catch up with the already leaving Lita.

Christian walked over to Chris and they fell in step with each other as they started walking, "So how are you and Trish?"

"We're fine, better than fine, great," Chris answered, smiling to himself since it was the absolute truth.

"Lita told me that Trish dropped the L-bomb on you," Christian said, "But she didn't tell me if you said it back."

"The L-bomb?"

"Love idiot," Christian said, hitting the back of Chris's head with a smack.

Chris shoved Christian in the shoulder before rubbing the back of his head with his palm.  He hadn't told Trish that he loved her……….yet.  It was only a matter of time before he said it, that he knew.  He could feel himself falling more and more in love with her.  It was a scary feeling, definitely, but it was also comforting knowing there was someone out there that he could attain such feelings for.  He was lucky that he had figured out his feeling for Trish.

"No, I haven't said it yet, but that doesn't mean I don't think about it," he said, not knowing why he was being so unusually open about his feelings.

"Oh," Christian said, nodding and turning his eyes downward.

"What's the look for?" Chris asked.

"What look?" Christian asked.

"You just have this look, like you don't believe me or something," Chris said, "Have you said it to Lita?"

"No, but she hasn't said it to me either," Christian said, looking over at Chris, "We're taking it slow.  She's still broken up over Matt, and I don't want to rush her feelings.  But I know how I feel."

"So do I, I just said that I thought about it!" Chris said, starting to get defensive about what Christian was suggesting.

"I've seen you hanging around Stephanie," Christian told him quietly.

Chris turned his head towards Christian.  What had he been doing, spying on his or something?  What happened between him and Stephanie was private and not meant for anyone else's ears, and how dare Christian tell him that with that hint of suspicion in his voice, like he was sneaking around with Stephanie, while Trish knew what was going on.  Well, most of what was going on.  She didn't know about the dreams, but she knew that he and Stephanie were getting to be friends, and she was fine with that.  Besides, it was Trish he cared about, Stephanie was just a lonely person who he didn't………..no, he cared about her too, but in a completely different way.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chris asked.

"I've just seen you around and you're looking pretty tight if you ask me," Christian said, "Look, I just don't want Trish to get hurt………."

"Are you fucking kidding me?  Do you think I'm with Stephanie?" Chris demanded to know.

"Look, I don't know, it's just all of a sudden, I've seen you with Stephanie, and I mean, you guys weren't even friends a couple of weeks ago."

"So?  I'm not allowed to hang out with other people now that I'm with Trish?"

"I just don't want to see Trish hurt," Christian told him, "I know that she was hurt when she found out about the bet."

"Stay out of my fucking business Christian," Chris said testily, "I don't need you being my fucking conscience."

Chris stormed off, leaving Christian in his wake, staring dumbly as the words that Chris had yelled at him sunk in.  Chris walked huffily down the hallway, not believing what Christian had said.  How dare he think those things about him?  Nothing had ever happened with him and Stephanie, and nothing ever would.  Not in real life anyways, not ever.

"You look like you're upset."

Chris looked up and saw Stephanie leaning in her doorway, a clipboard in hand and a pen stuck over her ear.  A smile involuntarily came to his face.  Finally a friendly face who wouldn't try to sway him one way or another.  Wait, swayed what way or the other, he mentally shook his head of his thoughts, then looked up at Stephanie.

"You could say that," he told her.

"You want to talk about it."

"You don't want to hear about it."

"I don't have anything better to do," she shrugged.

Chris could denote a look of sadness in her eyes.  It made him think that she did have things she needed to do, but she was so desperate for some kind of friendship, some kind of human interaction.  He walked into her office, patting her shoulder as he walked by.  She gave a small smile at the contact.

"Thanks for listening to my shit," Chris told her as he laid across her couch.

"What am I?  Your psychiatrist?" she joked as she sat behind her desk, facing him.

"Would you like to be?"

"What's up?"

"Christian and I just kind of fought.  It was stupid actually, but what he said, it just wasn't something I wanted to hear, you know?"

"Probably not, I don't have too many friends," she told him.

"Which really is a shame," he told her, trying to reassure her, "You're a really great person."

"Don't lie Chris," she said, "Nobody around here likes me, nobody talks to me.  I think you're the only one who I've actually had a normal conversation with since I came back."

"It's cause you work too much Stephanie," Chris told her, "Have you tried to make any more friends."

"Not really, I just……….I just have so much to do around here that I'm always working," she sighed.

"I know that you want to impress your dad, but come on, you should have a life too," he told her.

"I thought I was supposed to only hear about your problems," she said, switching the focus back to him.

"Hey, I never said I couldn't hear about yours, that's what friends do for each other," he told her, looking at her stunned face.

"You think of me as a friend?" she asked.

"Stephanie, I've had dream sex with you, I think that I can consider you my friend can't I?"

She laughed, "Sure."

"Speaking of which, I haven't had any dreams about us having sex recently," he told her happily, "So that's a step in the right direction don't you think?"

"Yeah," she told him, "Any other dreams?"

"Yeah, nothing too big, the usual really," he answered.

"How are the kids?"

He laughed, "They're fine, they adore you.  I mean, if this were real life in my dreams, you would be so happy with them as children."

"I'm sure I would.  So in other news, what did you and Christian fight about?"

He made a face, "You know how I told you that I haven't told Trish I love her?"

"Of course, because you don't love her."

"Yet," he emphasized, "Yet."

"Ok, yet," she told him.

"Well, he insisted on bringing up the fact that I'd been hanging around you a lot, and he was practically accusing me of cheating on Trish with you, I mean, is that the stupidest thing ever or what?"

"Well, it is pretty silly, because I've seen you with Trish," Stephanie said, tapping her chin, "But why'd you get so angry?"

"Because he was accusing me of cheating!"

"But you know it's not true, just say that, and if he doesn't believe you, walk away," she told him.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about people thinking your cheating," he said.

"Well, if anyone thinks it, that's their faux pas," she told him.

"Yeah," he said, then looked at her, "Did you want to go get some food after the show?"

"This is not helping the 'no cheating' image you're trying to portray," she answered, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled sarcastically, "Trish would come along of course, I just wondered if you wanted to come along, and don't tell me you have to work, you have seven days a week to finish work, and I know you can't possibly use up every single minute of every single day doing work."

"Fine, but only because I know you won't take no for an answer," she said, "Now get out of here so I can…………"

"Finish your work," he said, ending her sentence for her.

She rolled her eyes, "Just go."

He grinned at her, "See you later.  We'll come get you so we can go together, ok?"

"Sure."

Chris walked out of the office and looked both ways before looking for Lita's locker room so he could go get Trish and go back to their locker room.  He knocked on the door to Lita's locker room, opening the slightly ajar door and sticking his head in.  Lita and Trish were sitting against one of the walls, next to each other and giggling over some magazine.

"Can I come in?" Chris asked.

Trish looked up, still laughing, "Oh, it's ok Chris, I'm just leaving."

"See you Trish," Lita said as the blonde got up.

"Bye," Trish waved, then opened the door and linked arms with Chris, "So where did you run off to?"

"I just--"

"Oh wait, before I forget," Trish interjected, "Christian and Lita, mostly Lita, but you know Christian is going to be with her, well, they invited us to this bar after the show, and I told them we would go."

"Actually, I invited Stephanie to go out to dinner with us," Chris told her, stopping in the hallway so they could talk.

"Oh," Trish said, then perked up, "She can come too!"

"I don't think she'd like the club scene," he told her, wincing a little at the thought of Stephanie in a club.

"Oh, well, it's just that Christian knows this great bar in town," she said, "Here, you can go out with Stephanie, and then I'll just go out with Christian and Lita, no biggie."

"Are you sure you want me to go out with Stephanie alone?" he asked.

"I trust you," she answered, kissing him, "Besides, it'll be nice that Stephanie gets to go out with a friend, I think it'll do her good."

"I'd like it if you two could become friends," he told her.

"We'll see, I'll have to be a little bit nicer to her from now on," she smiled.

Chris smiled as he walked into Stephanie's office after the show was over.  He was freshly showered and had just pulled his damp hair into a ponytail.  He straightened his polo shirt and waited for her to look up.  She signed something and then smiled briefly at him before grabbing her things.  She looked around curiously before turning to him.

"Where's Trish?"

"Oh, she's going out with Christian and Lita, but I'm still taking you out to dinner," he told her.

Stephanie looked at him uneasily, "You know what Chris, you don't have to take me out, I'm fine eating in my hotel room, I'll just order something up."

"Why?  I'm right here, ready to take you out, which I would pay for by the way," he said, adding extra incentive.

"But Trish wouldn't be there, and I'd feel uncomfortable going out with a guy who's taken already."

"She knows about it," Chris said, "She told me to go actually, so come on, I'm starving."

"Ok," she said, a little unsure, but grabbing her things nonetheless.

He opened the door for her and let her walk through.  They went out to his car and he took her things from her so he could put them in the backseat, telling her to forget her work for the rest of the night.  They got in the car and they found a steakhouse type place to eat.  They were seated immediately, since it was kind of late, and most people were hanging around the bar in the middle of the restaurant.

They ordered and waited for their food, mostly talking about the show and all the things going on with that, the matches and everything, gossip mostly.  Chris could tell that Stephanie was having a good time, and he was glad that he was able to get her mind off of things for an evening.  She just needed a friend, and he was glad that he could be her friend, because frankly, she wasn't all that bad to hang around.  Their food came and they ate quietly, Stephanie stabbing her pasta on her fork as she ate.

"So what've your dreams been about if they haven't been about sex?" Stephanie asked.

"Well…………"__

_"I want you to be a good boy," Stephanie said to Reid as he grabbed his duffel bag, "Be good to Grandma and Grandpa ok?"_

_"Yes Mommy, I will."_

_"And watch over Bren ok?  He's still a little kid and he needs watching."_

_"I know."_

_"Bren!  Come on sweetie, Grandma and Grandpa are going to leave without you!" Stephanie called out._

_Chris came hobbling into the foyer, Brennan clinging to his leg, burying his face into his father's pant leg.  Chris tried to pry the youngster off of his leg, but he wouldn't budge, just clinging on tighter.  Stephanie and Chris knew that Brennan was in that stage where he was really tight with his parents and hated leaving them even for a second.  Stephanie came over to kneel next to Brennan, rubbing his back._

_"How's my little boy?" Stephanie asked._

_Brennan mumbled something, but didn't show his face to Stephanie._

_"Sweetie, can I see your cute face?"_

_Brennan slowly turned to face his mother._

_"There's my sweet boy," she said smiling, "Grandma and Grandpa are waiting, don't you want to go visit with them in Canada?"_

_"No," he mumbled, leaning his chubby cheek on Chris's leg, "Stay."_

_"But Grandma and Grandpa never get to see you and they love you so much.  And Grandpa will take you to play hockey, and you can back cookies with Grandma.  And I'm sure you'll do lots of fun stuff with them."_

_He shook his head, "Stay."_

_"So you want to make Grandma and Grandpa upset."_

_"They stay too," he shrugged._

_Chris laughed, "Hey buddy, it's not going to be for that long, and then when you come back, you can show me and Mommy all the fun things you did."_

_"No, I stay," he said resolutely._

_Stephanie leaned in close to Brennan and kissed the tip of his nose, "For Mommy, please."_

_Brennan slowly let go of Stephanie's leg and hugged her.  She hugged him back tightly, kissing his cheek.  Chris looked a little relieved that the toddler had relinquished his death grip on his leg.  Chris ruffled Brennan's hair as Stephanie handed him to Chris's father.  They both kissed Reid goodbye as they left to go take a flight back to Canada for a week.  Stephanie waved until the car was no longer in sight before sighing and turning around, smack dab into Chris.  He grinned lecherously down at her._

_"We're all alone."_

_"I know," she answered, then started running upstairs, "Last one upstairs has to do all the work!"_

_Chris chased after her quickly._

"You have such nice dreams," Stephanie mused as she wiped her mouth and put her napkin on the table, signaling she was through, "I have dreams about facts and numbers and all that kind of stuff."

"Too bad you aren't in my dreams………wait, you are," he joked.

She laughed, "Yeah, they do seem idealistic."

"Wanna trade?  I wouldn't mind dreaming of facts and figures."

"You don't want my life Chris, trust me.  It's lonely and it's just……….."

Chris didn't make her finish, "Here, I'll go pay the check and we'll go back to the hotel ok?"

"Ok," she said, "Though part of me wishes that I didn't have to go back to an empty room."

"Ok, you twisted my arm, let's go watch a midnight movie."

"Really?"

"Sure, Trish probably won't be back until like three so I've got the time, come on."

He went and paid and they drove to the nearest movie theater, finding a couple of movies showing soon.  They picked one at random and went inside, grabbing candy and popcorn along the way.  They watched the boring movie, talking the entire time, laughing and making up their own dialogue rather than walk out.  They got shushed five different times and just laughed.  After the movie was over, Chris drove back to the hotel and walked Stephanie to her door.  She stopped in front of it and hugged him suddenly.

"Thanks for tonight," she whispered, "I needed it."

"No problem," he said, hugging her back, "I needed it too."

"Night," she said, opening her door, "Tell Trish I said hello."

"I'll tell her," he said, watching as she disappeared into the room.  He walked down to his own room, and opened the door.  Trish was in the bedroom, just getting into her pajamas.  He smiled and walked over to her, kissing her deeply, "How was your night?"

"It was so much fun," she said, "I wish you could've been there, but it was still fun."

"Great," he smiled, glad that she had had a good time.

"What about you?  How was your night?"

"Fun," he said, "More fun than I thought it would be."

"Good, I'm glad that you guys are getting along."

"Me too."


	7. Chapter 7

"You know, I really do like hanging out with Stephanie."

"I knew you would."

"Sure, she gets a little bossy when you're talking about work, but once you get past that, she's really cool," Trish said, kneeling next to Chris as they sat on the couch in their hotel room.

"Then just don't talk about work," he said.

"I try not to, I have a feeling that it dominates her mind though."

"It's just because she wants to make her father proud of her, and she doesn't know any other way to do that except throw herself into her work."

"You seem to have her pretty figured out," Trish observed.

"She's pretty easy to read once you actually take the time."

"I'm glad that you suggested we be friends," Trish told him, kissing his cheek, "I like being friends with your friends."

"Well, you were pretty much friends with them all before we started dating."

"I know that," she said, hitting him lightly, "But I mean, I never thought that I would get along with Stephanie, and lo and behold, I actually do."

"Good, that makes me glad," he said, turning to kiss her fully.  She returned the kiss eagerly and he pushed her lightly onto the couch and lay on top of her.  She laughed and looked up at him, smiling softly at him.  He gazed back at her before leaning in to gently touch his lips to hers.  She wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him so they were chest to chest.

He lost himself in her, and he couldn't remember ever being as perfect as he felt with her.  It was a different feeling entirely, and one that he could definitely get used to for the rest of his life.  He kept kissing her, knowing that he never wanted to be anywhere, but here, with her.  He pulled away slightly and gazed into her lovely, brown eyes.

"I adore you," he told her softly.

She kissed him briefly, a smile on her face as she heard his words, "I love you so much."

"I never thought I could find anyone as perfect for me, but you," he told her, meaning every single word.

"Yeah, too bad we wasted so much time being apart," she said, "If I had known how wonderful you were, I would've snatched you up a long time ago."

"Who says I would've?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you saying you wouldn't have wanted me?" she shot back.

He gave her a once over, "Nah, I wouldn't say no to this.  I'd hit it."

Her mouth gaped, "You and your little jokes, I have a good mind to hit you."

"I can think of more productive things for you to do."

She just shook her head and went back to kissing him, "I think we'll be getting to bed late tonight."__

_"You sure that you don't want me to go with you to the gorilla?" Stephanie asked him, sitting there, looking almost hopeful._

_"Babe, it's alright, I can go by myself, I don't want you to have to wait for me," he said, kissing the tip of her nose._

_"Ok, if you don't want me there," she said, batting her eyelashes in the most pathetic fashion._

_"Fine, fine, come on," he said, tugging her hand, "Let's go."_

_"You do want me around," she said, giving him a cute grin and kissing his cheek._

_"Yeah, I guess, I just can't seem to get rid of you actually."_

_"Like you'd want to," she answered, giving him a look, "Face it Jericho, you want me so bad, you'd be willing to do anything to stay with me."_

_"That's very true, I even went so far as to marry you, if that doesn't say how much I want you, then I don't know what will."_

_"I don't know either," she said as they reached the gorilla, "Now go out there and make me proud."_

_"Do I ever not make you proud?"_

_She gave him a sweet smile and kissed him softly, "No, never."_

_He grinned, wiping the lipstick off his mouth with the back of his hand.  He turned to walk away, but she pulled him back with a hand.  She reached up and wiped the corner of his mouth where he still had a little bit of lipstick.  He started walking away, only letting go of Stephanie's hand when he had to.  He went out and posed for his entrance, just like usual and smiled to himself as he turned around._

_He went down the ramp to his match against Edge and walked into the ring.  The match began and started with chops on both sides before it escalated into a fast-paced match.  Chris bounced off the ropes and gave Edge a running bulldog.  He slammed Edge's face into the mat and then ran to try and get a Lionsault.  Edge brought his knees up into Chris's ribcage.  Chris laid down as Edge tried to go for the pin, but he kicked out at the last moment.  Chris got up and gave Edge a hard clothesline, laying him out on the mat.  Chris went for another Lionsault, this time hitting it perfectly and pinning Edge for the win._

_Chris panted as he walked backstage.  He grabbed his ribs, those would definitely be sore tomorrow.  He walked backstage and looked around for Stephanie.  He didn't see her in the immediate area and figured she must've gone back to the dressing room.  She had mentioned wanting to call the kids._

_"Help!" _

_Chris's ears recognized that voice.  It was Stephanie's.  He searched around frantically, wondering where she was.  The voice echoed, and he couldn't pinpoint its location.  The pain in his ribs was forgotten as he searched around for his wife.  He finally turned the right corner in the right hallway and saw her being pressed up against the wall by the Kane.  He had her by the arm and she was struggling to break free of his grasp._

_"Get your hands off of her!" Chris shouted as he rushed towards his wife.  He pushed Kane out of the way, before punching the man until his nose was bleeding.  Kane ran off and Chris turned to Stephanie.  Her eyes were watering and she was rubbing her arm._

_"Baby, are you ok?" he asked gently._

_"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm fine."_

_"You're sure?"_

_"Yeah, Chris, I'm fine."  He could tell she wasn't, but she was trying to be brave._

_"What happened?"_

_"I don't know, he just cornered me, I wasn't expecting it," she said, leading him back to their dressing room, "You came just in time."_

_"I would never let anything happen to you."_

Chris looked around the dressing room the next day.  He wondered where Trish had gone, probably to go talk to Lita or something.  He pulled up his wrestling tights and then grabbed his boots, lacing them tightly, making sure that they would stay on for his match later on.

"Hey you," Trish said, walking in, "Damn, I missed the show."

"Oh, you mean me getting dressed?"

"Yeah, I'm always interested in that," she said, raising her eyebrows in delight.

"I figured you were, judging from past experiences," he told her.

"Oh, you know me too well," she said, sitting next to him, "Maybe I should get dressed and give you a show."

"Now we're talking," he said, grinning lecherously in her direction.

"Of course, that might give you too much distraction for your match later on, and we can't have that," she said, pretending to be serious.

"If you get me worked up, then I might be taking off my clothes again," he said, laughing.

"Oh really?  Then let me see what I can do to get you all hot and bothered."

She pretended to think for a second, giving him a coy look.  He looked at her for a moment before tackling her to the couch and kissing her deeply.  She giggled in surprise as he practically mauled her.  He kissed her over and over, ravishing her and messing up her perfectly coiffed hair by running his fingers through it.

"You're such a crazy man," she told him, but her gaze was loving.

"Only crazy for you."

"Wow, that ranked a ten on the cheesy scale," she laughed.

"Well then...."

He started tickling her and she tried to move away, but he was laying on top of her.  She pushed him off and he landed on the floor next to the couch and she just laughed at him.  Her laughing turned to a scream as he pulled her down to the ground.  She fell on top of him and she straddled his lap.

"This is what I'm talking about," she said, "Crazy."

"But I make your life interesting don't I?"

"I'll give you that one," she nodded, "But don't expect much more."

"Damn, so that means I'm not getting any tonight doesn't it?"

"Well.we'll see," she said.

Chris heard a scream and looked up towards the television.  Stephanie had been in the ring making an announcement and Evolution had come down to the ring, Hunter leading the little group.  Stephanie had tried to stand up to her ex-husband, but she was sorely out-numbered.  They had backed her into a corner.

"Shit," Chris muttered, "She doesn't have anyone."

"Go," Trish said, getting off him quickly, "Go help her!"

Chris was on his feet with lightning speed and ran out into the hallway.  He was practically to the gorilla, when he was stopped.  He turned around quickly and saw Christian standing there, holding his arm.  He looked at him, perturbed by his presence.  He wanted to go help Stephanie before she got seriously hurt.

"Chris, where are you going?"

"To help Stephanie!" Chris yelled, shrugging off Christian.

"Dude, what is with you two?" 

"What do you mean?"

"You hang out, you go out, and now you're saving her?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing.

"She's my friend you asshole!  And she's about to get hurt!"

"What about Trish?  Forgotten about her?"

"No!  She told me to go to Stephanie you idiot, so I'm going to go help my friend, and I don't give a shit about what you think about it!"

"Fine Chris, throw away something great with Trish for Stephanie!"

"Where the fuck are you getting these ideas, I'm with Trish, not Stephanie!"

Chris ran away, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Hunter had grabbed Stephanie by the hair and Batista had come around behind her and grabbed her by the arms, holding her against him.  She was screaming now and Chris put all his attention on helping her.  She had tears streaming down her face, and Chris saw red.

He slid into the ring going after Hunter's quad, knocking him down before anyone else.  The other three came after him, Batista savagely throwing Stephanie down to the ground where she landed on her arm with a gasp.  Flair and Orton were laying into him, but he could only see Stephanie, laying there, staring at him in shock.

"Steph, get out of here!"

Stephanie nodded mutely and got out of the ring.  Chris endured the beating his was receiving, trying to get some offense in, but finding it hard, now Hunter was in the mix as well and the beating turned to four on one.  Batista picked him up and gave him a powerbomb and Chris felt his head bounce lifelessly off to the ground, then everything went hazy.  The last thing he remembered was seeing Stephanie with a chair, hitting all the guys.he had told her to get out of here.  

Leave it to Stephanie to not listen.

He was in a dream world it seemed.  Everything was bright and lazy, and he could hear the distant voices, but couldn't focus on them.  His mind saw Stephanie being beaten, screaming for help.  Her assailant was blurry, his mind drifting from the real world to the dream world with quickening pace.  He saw her getting hurt by Kane, then getting threatened by Evolution. 

He couldn't see anything clearly, couldn't settle on any one thought and it scared him terribly.  He tried to grasp onto any one thought, but they were coming too hard and too fast for his tired brain.  He heard Stephanie's voice, the only thing persistent in this haze.    
She was in his dream world and in his real world, she was where the line blurred, she was the glue holding everything together.

"Chris!  Chris, can you hear me?"

That was Stephanie's voice, pleading, but where was it coming from.

"Chris, please, wake up!"

He opened his eyes, or at least, he thought that was what he was doing.  He wasn't too sure about that at the moment.  His mind was adrift in an endless fog, and he wasn't too sure where he was at the moment.  All he could see was Stephanie hovering over him, her hands holding his tightly, as if to never let go.  He smiled at her softly; she was so beautiful.

"Oh Chris, thank God," she said thankfully.

He looked around and saw some trainers around him, but not much else.  He couldn't be too sure about where he was.  Where was he anyways?  A show, and Stephanie was by his side.  She was by his side because she was his wife.  Right?  He tried to clear his mind, something about Trish came to his head, but he couldn't pinpoint what that feeling was.  

No, Stephanie was his wife, and they had two kids, Brennan and Reid.  Reid was five, and Brennan was just a little two year old, but they were both little spitfires.  They lived in Connecticut, in a big, nice house, and Stephanie stayed at home with the kids while he traveled.  Yes, that was his reality wasn't it?  It seemed so real.

He looked up to Stephanie, her gaze fixed on him, worry marring her brow.  He reached out to touch her face with his palm.  She looked at him, stunned by his actions.  He was just trying to reassure her that he was going to be just fine.  He smiled at her, and she smiled tentatively back, seeing his eyes sort of glazed over.  She wondered what was going through his mind.  She didn't have to wait long.

"Stephanie, I love you."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews you guys, they really are overwhelming and I love them all, so please keep reviewing. :D  
  
~  
  
Stephanie looked down at Chris, not expecting those words to come from his mouth. She stared at him, not knowing how to respond, and not knowing why he said that in the first place. She gently took his hand off her face and put it back down by his side.  
  
"Chris, you don't know what you're saying," Stephanie told him softly as the trainers continued checking on him.  
  
"No, I love you," he said again.  
  
Stephanie bit her lip. How should she respond to that? She didn't understand why he kept saying that. They put him on a stretcher, as Stephanie kept following him. He wasn't relinquishing his hold on her hand, so she couldn't leave even if she did want to. And she DID want to leave.  
  
Especially when she looked up into the angry eyes of Trish Stratus.  
  
They followed him to the ambulance, Chris keeping his stare on Stephanie. As they wheeled him into the ambulance, Stephanie pulled her and away, letting them put him inside. She took a step back, preparing to let the ambulance drive away. Chris had other plans.  
  
"Stephanie!"  
  
"What?!" she called out.  
  
"Come with me!"  
  
Stephanie looked to Trish, who was sitting on Chris's left. She hadn't said anything since Chris had said those words, but she could easily tell that Trish was upset, more than upset, pissed off. Yet, Chris, was lying there, wanting her, and what could she do? He wasn't going to let them leave without her. So she reluctantly climbed into the ambulance, careful not to look over at Trish.  
  
The ride to the hospital was tense and silent, save for some of the paramedics speaking every now and then. Chris was in a dream world, not fully knowing where he was, or what was going on. He looked to his left and saw Trish and vaguely wondered what she was doing here. But he didn't care about that at the moment, because Stephanie was to the right of him and he smiled at her, trying to reassure her that he would be alright.  
  
They arrived at the hospital and Chris was whisked into the back to be checked on for any serious head injury. Stephanie took a seat in the waiting room, making sure to be on the other side of Trish. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation, and judging from the looks that Trish had been sending her throughout the ambulance ride, she figured that a big blow- out was only moments away.  
  
She heard Trish's cell phone ring and heard Trish talking across the room, telling whoever was on the other line that Chris was with the doctors and they hadn't heard anything yet. Stephanie figured that it was Christian or Lita on the other line, thinking they would be one of the first people to call and ask how Chris was doing. Stephanie just hugged herself tighter and tried to disappear into a corner.  
  
She still couldn't figure out Chris's words, but at this point she didn't even want to try. Thinking that he loved her, it was strange, especially when she had seen him and Trish together. She didn't want to intrude on their relationship and now she figured she had gotten in way too deep. She should've never become friends with him.  
  
"Are you two here with Mr. Jericho?" a doctor asked.  
  
"Yes," Trish said, walking over to him quickly, "How is he?"  
  
"Well, he's got a pretty bad concussion, but he's lucky that's all he got, because it seems like he got a pretty bad bump to the back of the head."  
  
"Thank you," Trish said, "Can we go see him?"  
  
"Well, we only recommend family, but he's been asking for Stephanie, so I think that whoever she is, should go see him before he goes crazy. I'm going to assume you're Stephanie."  
  
"Actually, I am," Stephanie said, "But she should go first, she wants to see him more."  
  
"Fine," the doctor answered, "Come with me."  
  
Trish followed the doctor as Stephanie sat down again. She had tried to do the right thing and let Trish go first; she just hoped that was the right thing to do. Chris lay in his hospital bed, still pretty dazed and out of it. But at least he was conscious and knew what was going on for the most part. He was just waiting for Stephanie now. The door opened and he smiled, thinking Stephanie was finally coming to see him. He was dismayed to see Trish walk in instead.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he snapped.  
  
"I came to see you baby," Trish said softly, coming to his side.  
  
"Well, I don't want to see you, how dare you come here!" he said.  
  
"Chris, it's Trish, your girlfriend," Trish said, taking his hand and holding it tightly in her own.  
  
"Yeah right," Chris said, "That's what you want, but it's not going to happen Trish, so get the hell out of my sight."  
  
Trish was on the verge of tears, but she held them in, "Chris, don't you remember me?"  
  
"Yeah, of course I do, and I want you to leave, where's Stephanie?"  
  
"Why do you want to see Stephanie so badly?" Trish pleaded, needing to know the truth.  
  
"Oh come on, don't play the stupid innocent act with me, that's not going to work Trish. I wan Stephanie now, and if I don't see her NOW, I'm going to ask security to escort you out of the building."  
  
Trish let go of his hand and took a step back from his bed, "If that's what you really want."  
  
"It's what I want," Chris said with resolve, "So go make yourself useful and find her!"  
  
Trish practically ran out of the room and into the hallway, hardly concealing her tears. She didn't understand anything right now. She bumped into someone and saw Stephanie standing in front of her, her arms folded and looking concerned. Something inside Trish just snapped and she glared at Stephanie, hatred in her eyes.  
  
"What the hell is going on with you and MY boyfriend?" she demanded to know. If Chris couldn't tell her, she'd ask Stephanie.  
  
"I have no idea why he's being like this," Stephanie said truthfully.  
  
"Bullshit! Why does he want you and not me!"  
  
"I don't know Trish, I swear to God, I don't know."  
  
"You're a pathetic bitch, I actually tried to be your friend. I should've known that you were out to steal my boyfriend. Why Stephanie? Are you so fucking pathetic that you can't even get your own guy, so you have to take mine!"  
  
Now Stephanie was on edge, "How dare you? I've been telling you the fucking truth and you have no right to accuse me of this!"  
  
"Oh don't I? When my boyfriend throws me out of his room and tells me to find you, I'm going to be skeptical."  
  
"It's not my fault!" Stephanie shouted, not caring they were making a scene. And it seemed Trish didn't care either, judging from the tone of her voice.  
  
"After you go see him, I want you to stay the hell away from us, do you understand me, you fucking bitch, you stay away from us, or else I'll have to kick your ass!"  
  
"Don't you even dare threaten me, I have more power than you ever will!" Stephanie shot back.  
  
Trish shoved Stephanie and she had to take a few steps back to catch her balance from the shove. She came right back with her own shove and Trish grunted as she charged at Stephanie with a scream. Stephanie let out a breath as she was hit and she tried to take down Trish by the hair. Stephanie fought her off and Trish just kept coming back for more.  
  
Finally, some of the security guys came over and broke them up. The surly men pulled the two women apart by their waists, despite their efforts to break free and charge at each other again. The security guys told them to break it up or they'd be thrown out of the hospital. Stephanie dusted herself off and glared at Trish.  
  
"You've got five minutes with him," Trish said, "So say your goodbyes and be done with it."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do," Stephanie said with a sneer.  
  
She brushed past Trish and tried to straighten herself out before she walked into the hospital room. She didn't know what to expect on the other side, but she was a little bit scared. She hadn't done anything to provoke Chris, and she didn't know why he was feeling these things. Taking a deep breath and deciding to just take the plunge, she walked into the room.  
  
Chris had heard a commotion outside, but hadn't taken the energy to figure out what was going on. The door opened again and he feared the worst, but instead was greeted with the sight he had been longing to see. Stephanie stepped tentatively into the room and he smiled at her. She smiled back and walked over to his bed.  
  
"There you are," he said happily, "Do you know how long I've been waiting to see you...it felt like forever."  
  
"Why did you want to see me so bad?" she asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this right now.  
  
"You know why," he said, patting the spot next to him on the bed, inviting her to join him.  
  
She just sat at the end of the bed and looked at him, "I'm not sure I do."  
  
"Of course you do Steph, you're the only person I'd want to see right now."  
  
"What about Trish, don't you want to see her?"  
  
"Why would I want to see her? Did I become friends with her and I've forgotten or something, that's the only explanation I can come up with as to why I'd want to be with her at all."  
  
"She's your girlfriend..."  
  
Chris burst into laughter, scaring Stephanie a little bit, "My what?!?"  
  
"Girlfriend."  
  
"Ok, this is a joke right, this is all one horrible joke, I mean it has to be. Who paid you to say that? Did she, or is this some sick, twisted thing."  
  
"Chris, what am I to you?"  
  
"You're my everything," he said sincerely.  
  
"Oh," she said, "Um, the doctor said you'd be out of it. I think you're out of it right now."  
  
"I am a little woozy, but other than that, I think I'm perfectly fine. Aren't I YOUR everything?"  
  
"Um, no," she said delicately, not knowing what his reaction to that would be. He gave her a little pout and then a laugh, grabbing her hand and patting it. She started to pull away from him, but he held on tightly to her, so she relinquished her hand and let him grip her.  
  
"Yeah, I figured as much, not with the kids in our life right."  
  
"Kids?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, Reid and Bren, where are they by the way? Are they with your parents? I hope they weren't too scared when I had to get put in the ambulance. You have to call them and tell them that I'm fine."  
  
It all became clear to Stephanie then. The mention of the names had set off every alarm in her head. Chris wasn't feeling anything genuine for her, he was in that world of daydream. He had a concussion, he was hazy and dazed, and probably didn't know where he was, and his dreams had turned into his reality.  
  
She contemplated on whether to go along with the story or to tell him the truth. Looking at him lying there, she didn't think she could tell him the truth. It might shatter him. Better to play along right now, because he would forget later on anyways, and so playing along for a few minutes wouldn't hurt. He'd probably fall asleep soon and not remember any of this tomorrow.  
  
"Yeah, they're with my parents, I'm going to get them later and tuck them into bed and I'll tell them you're alright," she said, hoping that sounded believable.  
  
"Oh, so you're not spending the night with me?"  
  
"Um, yeah, I don't think that would be too good, you know with the boys, and how clingy Bren is," she said, remembering all the things that Chris had told her about his dreams.  
  
"Yeah, poor kid," Chris said, "He'll learn to live without us, but for now, it's probably best one of us is there."  
  
"He didn't even want me to leave and go with you," Stephanie said with a laugh, "Asked me to stay."  
  
"Oh, so that's why you didn't get into the ambulance."  
  
"Um, yeah, that's it," Stephanie said, "That's why, Brennan wanted me to stay with him."  
  
"I should let you go then," he said, "I'm pretty tired anyways."  
  
"Yeah, you need your rest," she said to him.  
  
"Tell the boys that I love them and that I'll be home tomorrow and we'll play then, because the doctor said I have to take a couple of weeks off."  
  
"I'm sure they'll love that."  
  
"I'm sure you'll love that too," he said with a wink as he put his hand on her knee. She stared, wide-eyed at her knee. She should push his hand off, but then he'd start asking things, and she didn't know what she would tell him if he started asking her about what was going on.  
  
"Oh yeah, I'll...love...that," she said hesitantly, "I better go though, it's getting late."  
  
"Sure," he said, sitting up and then getting too dizzy and laying back down, "I love you."  
  
Stephanie stared at him for a moment.  
  
"Well, aren't you going to say it too?" he said, looking at her expectantly.  
  
"Oh, of course, I...love...you too," she said with a chagrined smile.  
  
"Can I have a kiss before I leave?"  
  
"I better not," she said, shaking her head vehemently.  
  
"Come on," he pouted, "I won't be able to sleep without one."  
  
"Wait til tomorrow and I'll shower you with kisses."  
  
"Fine, don't kiss me."  
  
Stephanie sighed and took a deep breath. She leaned over and kissed him very quickly. It couldn't even be construed as a real kiss, more like a peck; it was nothing really. It had ended before it had begun. That would have to do for the moment, lest someone come in, namely Trish and start accusing them of having an affair.  
  
"Bye Steph, love you."  
  
"Ditto," she answered simply.  
  
Thank God he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chris woke up groggy the next morning.  He blinked a few times, the harsh neon light shining in from the hallway.  The bed he was laying on was like cardboard and the sheets like paper.  This couldn't be his hotel room.  The last thing that he recalled was saving Stephanie and then something must've happened to him, because he was almost positive that he was in the hospital.

He looked to the side and Trish was sitting there.  She wasn't asleep either, she was just sitting there.  Her arms were folded and she was staring at the bed intently.  If her eyes had been lasers, then he would've been vaporized.  He turned to face her and her look neither changed, nor did her position.

"Hey Trish," he said with a smile.

She didn't move.

"So what happened to me?"

"Maybe the doctors should answer that for you," she said, "Apparently, I'm not good enough for anything."

"Ok," he said strangely, "I must've had a concussion right?"

"Sure."

She was acting so cold to him, and he hadn't the slightest idea why.  She just sat there, her arms still folded across her chest and he was perplexed by her behavior.  She didn't even look happy to see he was awake.  Had they had a fight that he didn't know about?  Maybe he had amnesia or something, but he remembered everything, so it couldn't have been that.

"How's Stephanie?"

This time, Trish's face did change.  It went from cold to downright scary.  Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed together.  Chris didn't know what was going on and just looked at her questioningly, still waiting for an answer to his question.  The last he saw of Stephanie, she was looking at him from across the ring.

"Trish, I asked you how Stephanie was," he repeated.

"She's fine," Trish answered curtly, "I don't think you need to worry about her right now.  But I'm sure she'd love to know you're thinking about her."

"I was worried, she was about to get attacked," he said, "I just wanted to make sure she was fine."

"She's fine!" Trish said loudly, "Jeez, do you even remember me, Trish, your girlfriend!"

"Of course I know who you are," he said, giving a laugh until he saw Trish's face and then stopped short, "Why wouldn't I know?"

"Oh, so if you know, then everything you said last night was exactly what you wanted to say?"

"What did I say?"

"Like you don't remember!"

"Trish, I'm sorry, but I really don't," Chris said, trying to think back to last night and wonder if anything had happened that he should know about.  As far as he could tell, nothing really had happened.  But then he could barely remember anything that happened the night before.

"Don't try to cover up now that you're little girlfriend isn't here," Trish said, "You thought you could fool me!  What kind of idiot do you think I am!"

"Trish, what the hell is going on!" Chris yelled at her.  He was seriously not getting where her anger was stemming from.

"I don't even know what to say that would make this situation even remotely better," Trish said, "I don't know why I wasted so much time, and LOVE on you.  You obviously don't deserve it."

That was the last conversation he had had with Trish, and that was a few days ago.  He had to stay in the hospital an extra couple of days, and had refused any and all visitors.  He was trying to wrack his brain as to why Trish would suddenly, and he meant suddenly be so upset with her.  He came up with nothing, and it was frustrating thinking that his girlfriend was so mad with him.

On the fourth day of the silence, Christian came over to hang out.  The air was tense and they both felt it.  The conversation was uneasy and filled with "safe" topics that didn't involve Trish in the slightest.  Obviously Christian knew something since he was being so secretive.  Chris wanted to ask him about it, but didn't know how to broach the subject.  Luckily, he didn't have to.

"I knew something was going on between you and Stephanie."

Chris looked at him for a moment before responding, "There's nothing going on between me and Stephanie."

"Dude, give the act up, everyone knows!"

"Knows what!"

"That you love Stephanie!"

Chris sat back, his face frozen in a state of confusion.  Where were people getting this idea that he loved Stephanie?  Was it because he had saved her the other night?  That was simply because she was his friend and he didn't want her to get hurt.  It wasn't because he loved her.

"Where did you get that idea?" 

"The same place everyone got it, straight from the jackass's mouth," Christian said, "I can't believe you would give up something great with Trish for Stephanie.  I knew that she was bad news."

"Ok, first of all, Stephanie is not bad news, so drop that.  Secondly, why does everything think that I'm with Stephanie?  I'm seriously not getting it."

"The night you were hurt, the entire arena and everyone viewing the show heard what you said to Stephanie."

"Christian, I had a concussion!  I have no idea what I said that night, let alone that everyone heard me say whatever it was that I said."

Christian looked him straight in the eye and said bluntly, "You told her you loved her."

"Oh, now you've got to be kidding me!" Chris guffawed and started laughing.  There's no way that he could've said that.  He kept on laughing, until he saw that Christian wasn't joining in on his laughing.  In fact, he looked downright pissed.  Chris's laugh tapered off until it faded completely.

"I did not say that," Chris protested, even though he couldn't remember that night.  But surely he would remember telling Stephanie if he love her or not.  

"Yes, you did, would you like me to go get you a tape so you can see it.  I mean, everyone was pretty much shocked.  And with good reason, how long were you and Stephanie going to carry on your little affair?"

"Stephanie and I are not together," Chris told him with a firmness that meant he was serious, "There's nothing ever been going on between us."

"Try telling that to everyone, I'm sure nobody will believe you."

"Look, I had a concussion, I was really out of it, how am I supposed to know what was going through my head at the time?"

"I don't know, but you better fix it soon," Christian said as he stood up and got ready to leave, "Because Trish is really upset, and unless you want to lose her, I suggest you do something quick."

"What am I supposed to do Christian?"

"Easy, stop being friends with Stephanie."  With that statement said, Christian walked out of the house.

Chris sat there, thinking about what had happened.  He honestly didn't remember telling that to Stephanie.  He didn't love her, that was the thing, it must've been because he saw her and just blurted it out.  He wanted Trish back, he missed her, and he needed her.  He was going to have a tough decision though, because Stephanie needed him as well.  But was she worth risking the best relationship he had ever had.

He mulled it over for a while and came to a decision.  He wanted Trish back, and if the cost of that was Stephanie, than that's what it had to be.  He didn't want to, but when he weighed it in his mind, he saw no other choice.  He got up to get his phone and dialed Stephanie's number.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, it's Chris."

There was a long silence on the other end, then a timid response, "Hi."

"Hi," he said back just as timidly, "Um, we need to talk."

"Ok."

"I figured out what I said on the show, to you…"

"Oh, that, I didn't take any notice to it," she said softly, "You had a concussion, I'm sure you didn't know what you were saying."

"You're the first person to actually agree with me," he told her with a short laugh, "But that's not why I needed to call you."

"Well, why did you then?"

"I really like Trish," Chris said, then paused, "And I want her back, she's pretty pissed at me right now."

"Yeah, I know."

"And, Stephanie, I hate to do this, but I…I can't be friends with you anymore.  Trish would never trust us together, and I miss her Stephanie, and please don't hate me."

She answered him quietly, "I understand.  I never should've gotten mixed up in this, and I'm sorry."

"Stephanie, it's not your fault, you're not the one who went running their mouth like an idiot.  I just hope that you can understand where I'm coming from with this."

"No, I absolutely do.  You don't have to be sorry about it.  You were a good friend Chris, and I thank you for that--"

"A good friend doesn't just leave," he interrupted.

"No, but you have good reason," Stephanie said, "I hope you and Trish are very happy, I won't bother you at shows anymore unless it has to do with business."

Chris felt so bad at the sound of her voice, "Bye Stephanie."

"Goodbye Chris."

She hung up then, and he stared at the phone.  She had said she understood, but he still felt like the biggest heel on the planet.  He hadn't wanted to hurt her, but he saw no other choice.  He dialed Trish's number and hoped that she would take him back after he had explained what he had done.  It took a few rings, but finally someone picked up.

"Hello?" came a testy voice.

"Trish, please don't hang up, I have to talk to you," he said quickly.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing more to say.  You've said WAY too much as it is," she said coldly.

"Stephanie and I aren't together, nor have we ever been, nor will we ever be," he said, "I had a concussion, I don't know what I was saying."

"That's no excuse!"

"Look Trish, I just told Stephanie that I couldn't be friends with her anymore.  I gave her up so that I could be with you…"

"You said you wouldn't be friends with her?" 

"Yes, I told her that I chose you," he said to her, hoping that would make her change her mind and take him back.

"You did that…for me?"

"Yes," he said, "Please Trish, take me back."

"I'm going to have to learn to trust you again," she said, "I mean, you did something horrible, even if you didn't really mean it."

"I get that.  So you'll take me back."

"Just don't ever get a concussion again, alright?"

"I'll try not to," he laughed, "I'll see you tomorrow at work?"

"Yeah," she said, "Sweet dreams."

He hung up the phone and smiled.  Now that that was taken care of, he could go to sleep with a clear conscience.  He got ready for bed and then went upstairs.  He didn't want to do that to Stephanie, but it had been a necessary evil.  He had to choose one or the other, and he had made the right decision.__

_"Chris, this isn't working out with us."_

_Chris looked at his wife in confusion.  They were sitting on their couch and she had both her hands covering one of his.  There were tears in her eyes, and he could feel the sting of tears in his own.  She had asked to talk to him for a second and now here she was dropping a bombshell on him._

_"What do you mean?  Like, you staying home, do you want to go back to work?"_

_"No, us, as in us married together," she told him, "I think that we should try a separation."_

_"Very funny," Chris laughed, "Where's the joke in all of this?"_

_"There's no joke," Stephanie said, "It's been brewing inside of me for a while and I just can't pretend to be happy anymore."_

_"But we were happy, just yesterday, we were happy!"_

_"No, we weren't, we were just pretending to be happy," she said with a sad smile, "It's all a game of pretend.  I tried not to become like my parents, constantly unhappy.  I wanted this to work out, I really, really did, but it isn't and I can't keep doing this to me and you, and especially to the kids."_

_Chris laughed, "You're such a bitch you know that right?"_

_She smirked, "Damn you!"_

_"Come here," he said, opening up his arms to her.  _

_She let him embrace her, "Do you think I did a good job?"_

_"Yes, I don't know why we had to practice for the show."_

_"Because I'm hardly ever on anymore, I just wanted to make sure I hadn't lost my touch," she said as she laid her head on his shoulder, "This feud should be fun.  I'm really glad my mom offered to take care of Bren and Reid for the night's we'll be away."_

_"Yeah, and it's not even that long," he said, "It's not like you'll be gone for long periods of time."_

_"Yeah, I know," she answered, "You wouldn't ever leave me for real right?"_

_"Why do you even ask that?  It's stupid."_

_"Just curious I guess."_

_"Oh."_

_"Don't ever leave me Chris," Stephanie said, her voice sounding a bit desperate._

_"I'd never leave you Steph, never."_


	10. Chapter 10

So Chris had given up being friends with Stephanie. It wasn't like he wanted to do it, but he had to if he wanted to salvage his relationship with Trish. She had been willing to talk to him after he had told her that he was no longer friends with Stephanie. He tried to explain that everything that he had said and done was due to his concussion and he hadn't known what he was doing. That was basically the truth though, he didn't really remember any of it. He was glad for that because he had a feeling he had embarrassed himself royally.  
  
He hadn't seen or talked to Stephanie in days, and he actually kind of, sort of...missed her. It was kind of odd in a way, its not like they had been friends for very long or anything, but...he still missed her. He felt terrible about it, except he didn't know what he felt more terrible about, hurting Stephanie, or feeling guilty for feeling so much about Stephanie.  
  
"Mmm, I missed you," Trish said as she snuggled up to him in their hotel room the morning of Raw.  
  
"I missed you too," he said, kissing her forehead reverently, "There's nothing like waking up to you."  
  
"Oh no, don't say that, I look like shit in the morning," she giggled, "You must think I look like a hideous beast."  
  
"Never," he said, brushing her hair behind her shoulder as he kissed her neck softly, "Thank you for taking me back."  
  
"It was an honest mistake," Trish said, "I mean, she was the first person you saw so you know, I'm willing to overlook what I think is a just a Freudian slip."  
  
"Good, I'd hate to think that you dumped me because I said something during a concussion. You should know that when people have concussions they tend to lose their minds a little bit."  
  
"Well I know now," she joked, "Just don't go out and get yourself another one of those. I don't want to find out from Benoit or something that you told him you loved him."  
  
"If I tell Benoit that I love him, please just shoot me or something, but I would have officially gone crazy."  
  
Trish laughed, sparkly and clear in the morning air, "Ok, I promise to do that."  
  
_"Chris, I need you."_  
  
Chris closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. He must have been having a daydream or something, because he could've sworn that he just heard Stephanie's voice speaking to him, but she wasn't here, or anywhere near her. He looked around the room for a moment and then shook his head.  
  
"Chris, you ok? Is your head still bothering you?"  
  
"A little," he said, attributing the concussion to the utter randomness of hearing Stephanie's voice.   
  
"Oh, thank God Vince said you didn't have to wrestle tonight," Trish said, rubbing his temples as she leaned in to kiss him.   
  
"Yeah, but I still want to go and be with you."  
  
"I wouldn't want you anywhere else."  
  
As Chris was walking down the hallways later that evening, he wanted to see Stephanie. He knew it was wrong and that Trish could possibly become upset with him over it, but he just needed to see how she was doing. Sometimes you had to go with your gut, even if your brain was telling you something completely different. His brain was committed to Trish, but his gut just wanted to check on Stephanie.  
  
He walked up to her door and knocked quietly. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing, especially the right thing by Trish, but he at least had to give Stephanie a proper good-bye, a good-bye that he said face-to-face instead of the coward's way out that he had taken before, calling her up and just ending their friendship.  
  
"Chris?" Stephanie said as she opened the door. She was surprised to see him there because of what had happened, though his presence was certainly not unwelcome.  
  
"Hi, I just wanted to make sure you were ok...after what happened."  
  
_"Chris, please..."_  
  
Chris blinked and stared at Stephanie. Had she just said something to him? He could've sworn that she had just said something, but he hadn't seen her lips move. How could she have spoken without her lips moving? But he had distinctly heard her voice.  
  
"Did you say something, Stephanie?"  
  
"I just said that I'm fine," Stephanie said, tilting her head slightly to get a better look at him. "Is something wrong? Does Trish not believe we're not friends anymore because I can tell her that I'll stop hanging around you."  
  
"Um...no, no, not that, I just, it's weird...but don't worry about it."  
  
"Did you have another dream?" Stephanie asked in a low voice, leaning forward ever so slightly so as not to let anyone hear their conversation even though nobody was actually around at the moment.   
  
Chris was reluctant to tell her that he had, because he would just be drawn into her again. Stephanie knew his dirty, little secret and because of that, she...well, he kind of needed her. All along, he had tried to convince himself that Stephanie needed him, that she was the one who needed a friend desperately, but if the truth was to be looked at through a microscope and exposed for what it was, well, it would reveal the fact that he needed her to be his friend.  
  
"I did, but you don't have to worry about those anymore either. You just concentrate on your work."  
  
She sighed and Chris caught the flicker of sadness in her eyes. He didn't get a good look at it before it disappeared back into the blue depths of her eyes. He put his thumb and index finger on her chin and made her face him as he looked into her eyes. They definitely hid it well, but she was sad and he could tell.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked softly, his breath pushing a few wisps of her hair back.  
  
"Nothing," she responded in the same tone that he had used.   
  
"There must be something wrong for you to look so sad."  
  
"I'm not sad," she told him, her chin raising up defiantly. "I just..."  
  
"You miss me?"  
  
"I didn't say that," Stephanie answered. "And when did you get so full of yourself as to think that I actually miss you?"  
  
"It's ok to miss--"  
  
"Look, it's just family stuff that's going haywire and that's what has me on edge; it's nothing to do with you, or our friendship, it has everything to do with my family."  
  
"I'm sorry," Chris said, "I guess I'll just leave."  
  
"Maybe you should."  
  
Chris obeyed her and left the room, closing the door silently behind him, but not closing it quickly enough to hear the first sniffle from Stephanie. He sighed to himself as he leaned against the door and closed his eyes. Why did life have to be so filled with decisions that seemed almost impossible to make? Why did someone have to choose friends, and choose people who they loved?   
  
He pushed himself away from the door in search of Trish. Seeing her would make him feel better; he knew that. He was falling in love with Trish, and he was so close to telling her the words, those three binding words that would most certainly make this relationship feel completely real and serious. He wanted a committed relationship with Trish; she was someone that he could see himself marrying one day. As the thoughts invaded his mind, he started to get dizzy from standing up so much and still being a little unsteady from his concussion. Deciding that he needed to lie down, he slowly went back to his locker room.  
  
"Chris, you look awful!" Trish exclaimed when she saw Chris's ashen-colored face. She rushed to his side and lent him her support as they made their way to the couch. "What happened?"  
  
"I just got a little dizzy," he said, "I guess I'm not completely over the concussion."  
  
"Man, you should be in bed resting and not here tonight. I knew I should've made you stay at the hotel!"  
  
"Trish, I just need to lie down," he said, chuckling a little at the worried face she was making right now. Her eyebrows were creased and her lips were pursed together forming a tight line. He reached out to touch her cheek, causing her to relax ever so slightly. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."  
  
"I love you," she said, kneeling next to him.  
  
"I know, but I'm Chris Jericho, I'm fine always."  
  
"Ok, I have to go cut a promo, but you'll be ok back here, won't you?"  
  
"I'll be just fine. I think I'll take a little nap and then you can come in here and wake me up when your match is on so I can watch my girl kick all kinds of ass in the ring."  
  
"I don't kick all kinds of ass, I just try my best."  
  
He brought Trish's face down to his and gave her a long, lingering kiss, "You do kick all kinds of ass, and I think you are so sexy when you are doing it."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah, how many guys have girlfriends who are just so fucking awesome and could probably kick any guy's ass that they wanted. Hell, you could protect me from people if you wanted to. Just a chick kick here, a little punch there, and you're done."  
  
"Are you sure you got your head examined thoroughly?" Trish said, with a silly lilt to her voice. "Because I swear you've gotten weirder."  
  
"Nope, not weirder, just falling more and more in love with you," Chris told her, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Trish's face looked as though a beam of light had just shined down upon her. She looked truly angelic when she was so happy. Her eyes shined like pretty jewels, outlined by her long eyelashes and her blonde hair which fell in the cutest way that made him always want to push it out of her eyes.  
  
"I love you so much Chris Jericho."  
  
"I know," he said, kissing her sweet lips again, "Now go out there and make me proud."  
  
"I'm going, I'm going."  
  
About ten minutes after Trish left, Chris found himself drifting off into a world that had become so familiar to him in the recent weeks. It was almost as real to him as the real world. The line between reality and dream sometimes blurred, melding into a world that Chris couldn't quite define.  
  
_"Reid and Brennan called from your parents today and they miss us," Chris said as he packed his bag in the hotel room.  
  
"Did you tell them that we're picking him up today?"  
  
"No, I told them that they were going to be stuck there forever, and that they would never see us again and would have to fend for themselves...what do you think I told him Stephanie?"  
  
"Well I don't know, sometimes you can be a jerk!"  
  
"Me? A jerk? Ok, a little bit, but not around them."  
  
"Aww, because you love your kids," Stephanie teased.  
  
"No Stephanie, I hate my kids, I wish we had never had them at all."  
  
"See, this is what I'm talking about, jerk to me."  
  
He laughed and walked up to her and picked her up so that they were eye to eye. "I love you so much and I'm only a jerk to you because I know that you put me in my place all the time."  
  
She kissed his nose, "I love you too. Sometimes I think that it'll all just fall apart one day and you'll be gone."  
  
"I won't leave you Stephanie, I will never leave you because I love you far too much for that."  
  
"But there's always that lingering thought. Marriage and love seems so fickle these days. One day you're in love and the next you're out of love and you just don't know when or if it'll happen to you."  
  
"Wild dogs would have to drag me away from you, wild fucking dogs."  
  
"That's not a comforting thought."  
  
"What is then?"  
  
"Don't get hurt on me either, I couldn't stand it if you ever left me alone in this world."  
  
"Again, no worries, because I--"  
  
"Chris, please come back..."  
_  
Chris's eyes shot up and he sat up, his breathing labored. That voice again. Her voice; she needed him, she was in trouble, or pleading or something. He ran out of the room and down to Stephanie's office, throwing open the door to see...  
  
Stephanie just sitting there looking over some papers.   
  
"Chris, what's wrong now?" Stephanie said.  
  
"Do you need my help?" he asked frantically.  
  
"No, this isn't anything that you could help me with."  
  
"Is everything all right with your family? I mean, if you want to talk about it, I'm here."  
  
"Chris, I'm fine, you can leave me alone, I swear to you, I'm fine."  
  
Chris nodded and looked at her as if she would say something and make him stay. She didn't, barely giving him a glance and he left silently. Something was bugging him, something was plaguing his mind, and he vaguely wondered if maybe he was going insane. But he heard her voice, and it was pleading to him. Maybe it wasn't Stephanie's voice, but it sounded like her. This mystery was puzzling him and he wondered just how long he could take this. Maybe if he told Trish he loved her, maybe it would end, maybe this entire thing with Stephanie would end.  
  
Or maybe it wouldn't. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chris felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He hadn't had a dream about Stephanie in two days. He hadn't had a daydream, or a vision, or anything regarding Stephanie in TWO whole days. It was almost like a miracle after he had gotten so used to having Stephanie invade many of his thoughts and dreams. Of course, he may have had help since Stephanie hadn't been around for the past four days. He didn't know where she was, but he didn't want to ask lest it get back to Trish.

He was curious though. Usually he would see her walking around, perennially working on something. He kind of missed that visage since she had mysteriously disappeared from the backstage area. He got up off the couch that he was sitting on and went to catering, hoping that food would take his mind off of Stephanie. He didn't want Stephanie to be on his mind in the first place, and he was sure she wouldn't have been if she hadn't been missing.

Christian and Lita were sitting at a table, eating and talking animatedly with each other. Chris grabbed a plate and made his way through the buffet line, loading up his plate before plopping himself down across from Lita and Christian. Lita looked over at him and raised an eyebrow at him, like he should've asked to sit down.

"What's up you guys?" Chris asked the two of them. They looked at each other, and had a conversation with their eyes, one that baffled Chris. He couldn't figure out why they were being so quiet, and the way that Lita was eyeing him was a bit disconcerting. He didn't like that look, it seemed almost sad, but what would he have to be sad about?

"We were just talking, eating," Lita said finally, which didn't convince Chris of anything.

"I get the feeling that wasn't what you were doing."

"We have food in front of us don't we?" Christian said, sounding slightly annoyed. Chris sat back a little bit, trying to gauge the two of them. Something seemed...off.

"Well, yeah, you do, but well...did you not want me sitting here?" Chris asked. He was getting this very unwelcome feeling from the two of them, and it confused him. He didn't think that he had said anything rather offensive to the two of them, had he? He had to wrack his brain to try and find something, anything that they could take the wrong way, but he couldn't find a single thing.

"No, it's fine," Lita said, smiling, and trying to be cordial. Or at least she looked like she was trying to be. Christian on the other hand, he looked very uncomfortable sitting there, and again Chris had to wonder why.

"Ok..."

"So where's Trish?" Christian asked, looking around.

"She's around here somewhere," Chris said, looking around himself, though he didn't expect to see Trish in the vicinity. Maybe he was looking for Stephanie, he didn't really know. Maybe unconsciously he was always looking for Stephanie, but he could never be sure, not until he saw her...if he saw her at all.

"Oh, why isn't she with you?" Christian asked.

"Because I don't need to be with her every single second of the day. She's perfectly capable of the whole walking around thing. I'm not her daddy who needs to watch her ever second."

"I have to go," Christian said, "I forgot I had a match and I need to make sure I'm warmed up. I can't eat all this stuff and still wrestle."

He got up before Chris could answer or really say anything. Christian had jogged out of the room, not fast, but enough to be kind of weird. But Chris's mind was elsewhere, specifically on the chicken in front of him, and what was the best way to eat it, nicely with his fork and knife, or to just tear at it with his teeth like an animal.

"He's just worried about you and Trish," Lita said, interrupting Chris's thoughts of chicken.

"Why would he be worried about us?" Chris said. It wasn't like his relationship with Trish was really any of Christian's business. Besides, his and Trish's relationship was fine. He wasn't dreaming about Stephanie, he hadn't seen Stephanie, and he was closer than ever with Trish. He was falling more and more for her, each second he liked her a little bit more. Was he ready to take the plunge and tell her that he loved her? Well, maybe it hadn't gotten that far yet, but he had never really committed to a woman, and he had to process this. But he was processing, and it couldn't be too long before he told Trish about his true feelings.

"Well, you and Trish got together the same time that Christian and I did, and I think that Christian thinks that if you two break up, then me and him aren't too far off," Lita said with a shrug, digging into the macaroni and cheese sitting in front of her. "It's like seeing first hand that things can go wrong, even as they seem so good."

"Things between Trish and I are great," Chris answered. "We've been getting along fine since--"

"The whole Stephanie fiasco," Lita finished for him, a sly smile on her face. "You know you have to wake up." Chris's eyes widened at her words. Where the hell did that come from? He asked her that a moment later. She just shrugged, and spoke again, "I just mean that you have to wake up and see that Christian is just being a friend." 

"Oh," Chris said, somewhat disappointed that was what she meant, but for reasons that he could not explain, and didn't care to find an explanation at the current moment. "Well, that Stephanie thing wasn't my fault, I wasn't in my right mind."

"What even motivated you to say you loved Stephanie?" Lita asked, honestly confused.

"I don't know, I had a concussion, I thought I heard her voice or something and it was the first name that popped into my head," Chris lied. How could he explain to Lita that he thought he was married to Stephanie and they had kids, and he had told her he loved her because he honestly thought they were together and had kids and the whole nine yards. He was out of his mind.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Lita said. "Too bad about Stephanie though, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"She's at home, she had some sort of anxiety attack or something because she's been working so much. I heard that she was pretty bad off."

Chris was almost compelled to hop out of his seat at that. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, she's been ordered to actually go on vacation. Her father and mother insisted that she take some time off. It's bad I think, or I heard, I don't know. I thought you knew, people have been talking about it a lot. People keep saying she's crazy, but they're stupid," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm gonna go find Trish," Chris said, nodding quickly. "I'm going to go find Trish."

Chris got up and walked down the hallway, sort of looking for Trish, but then, he was mostly thinking about Stephanie. Stephanie wasn't here because she had an attack. He felt like it was his fault. If she hadn't been working so hard, and so...alone, then she probably wouldn't have been gone, and have people talking about her behind her back like she was in a mental institution. She was just overworked, and she probably hadn't eaten or anything.

He didn't find Trish, but Trish found him quite easily. She ran up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. He turned to face her, and she could sense a vibe off of him. She couldn't quite place it, but it wasn't happy. She searched his eyes and then leaned up to kiss him softly, a kiss which he returned, but he wasn't as into it as he usually was.

"What's on your mind?" Trish asked quietly, standing on her tippy-toes to kiss him again.

"Nothing that you want to hear about," he told her, knowing that would probably arise her suspicions, which it did.

"Of course I do. I love you, and I always want to hear what you are up to."

"I just heard about Stephanie is all," he said, not knowing whether the consequence of that statement would be received well, or otherwise. Trish stood back on her heels and dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"I heard about that," Trish said, looking down. "I feel partially responsible."

Chris looked at her, wondering what she had to feel responsible about. Chris was the one that had dumped her as a friend. "It's not your fault Trish."

"Of course it is, I got jealous, and I practically forced you into not being friends with her, not even thinking about her feelings. It's not like she wanted you to tell her that you loved her. It just happened, and I'm partly responsible."

Trish looked so down-hearted and guilty that Chris felt his heart constricting, like the blood was taking forever to go through his body. His hurt was her hurt, and he tipped her chin up. "It's not your fault. It just happens."

"Go see her," Trish said. "Go see her and make sure that she's ok."

"I can't go right now, I have the show."

"You don't have a match scheduled, and you don't have anything else scheduled. I won't feel ok until you make sure that she's ok, because I feel so guilty right now."

"Are you sure?" Chris asked, wondering if this was a trap. Maybe Trish was trying to test his loyalty to her, and this was the way she was trying to do it. If that was the case, then he wouldn't be going to see Stephanie any time soon.

"Yes, just send my deepest apologies to her, seriously, I don't want her thinking I'm this bitch who was out to get her," Trish said, even as she winced at the thought that this could be her fault.

"For the last time, you had nothing to do with this. She was just working all the time, and it caught up to her is all," he said, kissing her. He went to grab his things, and headed for the airport. He would try to make the next flight to Connecticut, but it ended up being booked. He caught the next one though, only having to wait a couple of hours for it to come. Such was the problem with buying tickets at the very last moment.

The flight was long, by his standards at least. It was not leisurely, and he kept thinking about Stephanie being broken. He knew she wasn't a toy, but a person, but it didn't mean that she couldn't be broken. Stephanie was just like anybody else in the world, they were capable of being hurt, and sad, and every other emotion in the broad spectrum. He tapped his fingers against the armrest continuously, probably annoying the people near him, but well, they didn't say anything, and so he didn't care to stop.

He finally arrived, and the rental car people were more than nice to him, accommodating him quickly so he wasn't waiting forever like in those car rental commercial where they told you that they tried harder, and not just tried hard. He didn't exactly know the way to Stephanie's house, he knew the address, but he didn't know how to get there, and had to stop at two gas stations in order to find the place correctly.

The house was dark, as was custom since it was pretty late. The flight had not been short, and with his added detours, it was approaching the midnight hour. He got out of the car he had parked in her driveway and walked up to her house. He rang the doorbell and tapped his foot as he waited for her to answer. He wouldn't be surprised if she had been asleep, but if she was, he could just come back the next morning. She answered moments later, squinting her eyes to see in the dim light coming from the porch light.

"Chris?"

"Hey, thought I'd drop by."

"Does Trish know that you're here?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Chris nodded and Stephanie let him enter her house. She looked beyond tired, though it could've just been the way the light was hitting her. There were dark circles under her eyes, but they were bright too, like she was trying valiantly to keep them open. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, tendrils of hair falling out all over the place, some tucked behind her ears, some framing her face. She was in a robe, and she seemed to sink into it, melt away, swim in it, it was so large on her. Had she always looked so haggard, so old when she was barely past her mid-twenties?

"So I guess you heard about me going psycho," Stephanie said as she led him into the kitchen and started the coffeepot. "Coffee?"

"How much coffee have YOU had?" Chris asked, taking her in again.

"None for the last couple of hours," she said with a tiny smile.

"Maybe it's better if you don't have any more," Chris told her.

"Ok," she said, relenting easily as she turned it off. "I'm guessing you don't want any?"

"No, I'm good."

"So?" Stephanie said, looking down, and then back up at him. "What are people saying about me?"

"Nobody is saying anything."

"You're a liar."

"Yeah, I am a liar. It's not that bad. But...what happened?"

"I guess it just all caught up to me," Stephanie said. "You know, I was working too hard, without a break. But why would I take a break? I had nothing I had to take a break for, so what was the point?"

"Well, you know, still, take a break, eat, sleep, function."

"Well, I know that now," she answered, scoffing. "I guess it took a nervous breakdown for me to realize that."

"Are you cold?" Chris asked, taking in the way that she was wrapping her arms around herself.

"Not really, just a little," she answered. "So you came to check up on me?"

"Something like that...I felt partially responsible," he told her. He wasn't sure if that was a smart idea, to just tell her like that, but he was running out of things to say to her.

"Don't be, nobody but myself is responsible. I need to learn not to work all the time. But if that's why you came here, your conscience is clear, and you don't have to stay. Thank you for dropping by though, I really appreciate it."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"We both know what happened last time the two of us...I don't' want to get you in trouble with Trish again Chris..."

"I haven't dreamt about you at all for the past two days."

She smiled, genuinely this time, "That's great, I'm really happy for you."

She meant it too. He wanted her to mean it, or something like that. He might've thought that she would be disappointed, or sad, or something, but he was just beginning to blur the line between his dreams and reality. In reality, Stephanie wouldn't care whether or not she was being dreamed about. He was with Trish, and he cared about her, he almost loved her, and this was just the reaction that Stephanie was supposed to have.

"Are you happy for yourself?" Stephanie asked, catching him off guard with the question.

"What?" he asked, confused, the question seemingly coming out of nowhere.

"Are you happy that the dreams have stopped?"

Chris nodded quickly, "Of course I am, I never welcomed them in the first place. They were a distraction, and I'm glad they're gone."

"Then try smiling," Stephanie said, hitting his chin gently with her fist. "It'll help convince the people that you're talking to."

"You're not convinced that I'm happy."

"I'm convinced if you are."

"I am," he said, "I really am."

He should be, he thought, he should be happy. And yet the dreams had almost become a comfort to him. A steady thing that he could always count on. Trish, and all the people he dealt with, they had their own minds, and they responded to him according to their thoughts, and opinions, but in his own mind, he was the one who came up with all the answers, and all the questions. And it was a comforting thought, that silly, little world his brain thought up, knowing that he was the one in control. He needed control sometimes.

"Good...do you need a place to crash?"

"That'd be great," he said.

"Follow me."

He followed her right up the stairs and into a spare bedroom. It was quite girly, a flowered bedspread with flowered pillows, and a big quilt resting on the foot of the bed. Doilies adorned the dresser and the vanity table, and there were pictures of flowers on almost all the walls, save for the one with the sheer white curtains, also girlie.

"My mom decorated it, I'm very sorry," Stephanie said off his look.

"It's ok, it has a bed," he said, plopping down on it as if to show that he was ok with being in this girlie room.

"Ok, bathroom's down the hall, good night."

"Night Stephanie."

Chris lay there in bed, and maybe it was the setting, and maybe it was the fact he had seen Stephanie, but the dreams...they came back.

_They were dancing. The room was empty and they were dancing. No furniture, no lighting, no nothing. There wasn't even any music, but they were dancing like a string quartet was fueling their feet across the bare floors. She was tucked against him, the beating of his heart the only rhythm she was following. _

"_They say you're supposed to carry your new wife across the threshold."_

"_They also say you're supposed to eat the top of your wedding cake on your first year anniversary, but there's no way that I'm going to eat stale wedding cake, that's disgusting," Chris said softly._

"_What are we dancing to?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Then why are we dancing?" she asked, making no attempt to stop the dancing, only asking to make sense of their actions._

"_Because sometimes you just gotta dance," he said with a laugh._

"_So this is one of those times?"_

"_Yeah, besides, who needs music?"_

"_I guess you're right. I can't believe we got married."_

"_I can't believe you didn't trip on that insanely long train that your dress had," he pointed out._

"_I have impeccable balance," she giggled, repeating a line that she had said once. Was it a long time ago now? Yes, but it still run true in his brain. _

"_Let's just keep dancing forever," he said._

"_We can't."_

"_Who says?"_

"_The laws of the Earth."_

"_Oh...those are good laws."_

"_They are."_

"_Dance with me forever Stephanie?"_

"_Until my feet hurt."_

"_So forever then?"_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This is for Jodi since she really, really wanted an update. Hope this doesn't disappoint. And for all the other faithful readers, thanks for sticking with this story. Please leave a review, I'll love ya forever. ;)

Enjoy. :)

* * *

"King me!"

"I haven't played checkers in the longest time," Stephanie confessed as she put a red piece on top of Chris's checker piece. "I didn't even know that I had this, it must've come from my old stuff from my parent's house."

"Well, you probably didn't bring it out because you suck at it," Chris told her. "But don't worry, next game I'll go easy on you."

"Gee, thanks," Stephanie said sarcastically and then yawning. Chris noticed this and just looked at her for a moment before Stephanie caught wind of his look. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, you just yawned."

"I guess I did," Stephanie answered.

"Are you tired?"

"A little."

"Maybe you should try and get some rest," Chris suggested.

"Chris, I'm fine, I don't need to sleep all the time. I'm getting more rest now that I'm on vacation. And trust me, I won't be rushing back to work, I'm already embarrassed by this. I don't need people looking at me like some charity case when I go back."

"I doubt that'll happen."

"Oh yeah, you're right, some people will think I'm nuts and need to be put in a looney bin with a straitjacket, but that's fine, all in a day's work."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You actually came out to see me, and stayed two extra days when you didn't even have to. Are you sure that Trish isn't going to get suspicious?"

"No, I called her, she's just feeling guilty that this happened, I think she's actually worried about you, as crazy as that sounds," he said, remembering how upset Trish had been when she had spoken about Stephanie, and how sorry she still sounded every time that he called.

"She shouldn't, it's my own fault."

"I tried to tell her, but she won't listen, and hey, I'm your friend and you're going through a kind of rough time right now, it's the least I can do to come visit you and see how you're doing."

Stephanie smiled at that and went for her next move on the checkerboard. She would never admit it to him, but she was really grateful that he had come. She had been feeling really lonely by herself in this big house. She wasn't really recovering from anything serious, but it was nice to have a familiar face around to keep her company.

"But you really didn't have to come," she responded, still trying to play the "I'm ok" card, even though she wasn't really that ok.

"I know I didn't, but I'm not leaving, rumors be damned."

"Oh great, so I have to deal with more rumors when I get back, I suppose these ones are going to deal with you and me and anything that people will think happened this weekend."

"Ding, ding, ding," Chris answered, tapping his nose. "That's exactly what's going to happen, but don't worry, I'll have Trish, Christian and Lita to debunk all those rumors, they're like my own personal army."

"Must be nice…so how are things with Trish, I didn't really want to bring her up because of…well, what happened, but I'm curious to know how you two are doing," Stephanie said, showing genuine interest in what he had to say. Chris had been so wrapped up in making sure that Stephanie was going to be ok that he kind of forgot to talk about himself.

"I think we're doing fine. She's over the entire…well thing that happened," he said, avoiding the words like Stephanie had. "It was just a mix-up."

"So you've told her you loved her then?" Stephanie asked innocently.

"Um, no," Chris said, rubbing the back of his neck, something he did when he was nervous. "I don't know, maybe there's something wrong with me."

"Join the freaking club," Stephanie scoffed. "I'm sure she understands that you thought I was someone else."

"Yeah, but I still thought that you were yourself. I didn't think that you were someone else entirely."

"Sure you did," Stephanie said, "You thought that I was your wife; that I was your wife, Stephanie, but I'm not your wife. That's just some dream world that you've thought up. You know, dreams can come from anywhere, and who knows, maybe these dreams are just telling you that you need more fiber in your diet or something."

"If only, I'd rather be dreaming of large bran muffins, no offense."

"None taken," Stephanie said, waving his words off.

"I just wish I had some sort of motivation behind these dreams."

"Maybe you're just thinking about nostalgic things, like our old storyline, you're projecting that into your dreams and instead of Trish you see me, but it's really Trish that you want to be married to and that you want to have kids with," Stephanie said, then laughed, "Look at me being the dream psychologist."

"Hey, you don't know, it could be true," Chris shrugged. "Sounds pretty plausible to me."

"Yeah, it," Stephanie didn't get a chance to finish as she gave a huge yawn, her face distorting as her mouth opened. "Excuse me."

"You're obviously tired, why don't we hit the sack."

"It's sounding like a good idea," Stephanie said, gathering up their dishes. Chris intercepted her hands and grabbed them from her.

"I'll do that, you just go to bed," he said.

"Ok, thanks," Stephanie said, trudging upstairs.

Chris took the dishes to the kitchen and put them in the sink, running the water as he started to rinse them off and load them into the dishwasher. He had become a little bit acquainted with Stephanie's home over the last few days and finished up easily, drying his wet hands before making sure everything was locked. He cleaned up in the living room before turning off all the downstairs lights.

He walked upstairs and got ready for bed, feeling the exhaustion wipe over him as well. It wasn't easy being so lazy, it actually was tiring. He climbed into the very girly bed and closed his eyes, knowing that sleep would come for him quickly and hopefully bring a blissfully dreamless sleep. He sighed and buried his head deeper in his pillow, feeling the minutes tick away and sleep coming soon. But then he felt a pair of eyes settle on him and he opened his eyes.

Stephanie was standing in his doorway, watching him. There was little light in the room, but he could make her face out well enough. She looked exhausted, her eyes dark and with bags under them. Her hair looked unkempt and it was pulled back into a messy ponytail and she had her arms wrapped around her. She was staring at him, just standing there and staring and she looked so sad.

"Steph?"

She didn't say anything, but just kept staring. Chris didn't know if she had even heard him because he had been speaking very low. He repeated her name a little louder this time, but again she didn't respond, at least not immediately. She paused and then walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed so she was facing him. She smiled down at him, but it was so sad that it was almost making him sad too.

"What's up?" he asked her, but she seemed to stare through him.

"I miss you," she whispered and he had to strain to hear her.

"Ok, well, we can chill if you want to here."

"Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," he told her, sitting up a little bit.

"Yeah, of course you can," she laughed. "I know it's stupid to ask, I mean, it's only you and me here in the room."

"It's ok," he answered, "It's pretty quiet though."

"It's very quiet this time of night," she responded. "I've gotten used to it. You get used to it after a while. Even those tiny little sounds, they're just various things you know, and they get drowned out from your thoughts."

"I know how it is, once I'm asleep, I'm gone," he laughed. "Don't even try to wake me up because it's not going to happen."

"I'm just sitting there alone and I think and I think and my parents say that it's a bad thing, this thinking and that I should just try and stop, but I really don't know how."

"Yeah, it is pretty hard to stop thinking, especially when you have a lot on your mind."

"I try not to, I really do try, but it's hard, it's so hard and if I don't think, if I just sit here, if I just stay here and not move, I'll go crazy. I know it's silly."

"No, it's really not silly."

"Look at me, talking like I'm going to get all the answers in the world, like I'm going to suddenly see you and you're going to see me back and see everything and know everything and you don't because you're wherever you are and I'm here and I'm waiting."

Chris furrowed his brow, "What are you waiting for Stephanie?"

"I can see your eyes, you at least give me that every so often, but then you go back into hiding Chris."

"Stephanie? What am I hiding from?" he asked.

Stephanie reached out to him, and brushed his hair back, smiling at him, smiling with some emotion swirling in her eyes, "Don't leave me ok? I'm not ready for you to leave me."

"Stephanie, I'm really not going anywhere, but where do you want this to go? I mean, you're sitting here and telling me these things and I'm starting to wonder if you're sleepwalking," Chris said, going to take her hand off of his head, but at the last moment, she pulled it away again. She rested it in her lap as she sighed and stared at him.

"Maybe if I sit here and watch you, those thoughts won't consume me."

"If you want," Chris told her, again trying to reach out for her, but she stood up again. Chris didn't know where she was going, but he wanted to follow her, to make sure that she was ok. She was acting so strangely. He got out of bed after waiting a few moments, but when he looked in the hallway, she wasn't there. She must have scurried pretty quickly to her room. Maybe she was embarrassed by what she had done.

He tiptoed to her room and opened the door, the room dark and he didn't know his way around. He bumped straight into a trunk and fell down to the ground, cursing and grabbing his foot. He heard a snuffling from the bed and then heard Stephanie gasp and sit up, turning on the light from her nightstand. She saw Chris sitting on the ground and she rubbed her eyes.

"Chris, what are you doing?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," he said. "Hey, how did you fall asleep so quickly?"

"So quickly, Chris, I've been asleep for like," she looked at her clock, "Three hours."

"No, you were just in my room," Chris said, "And you were talking pretty crazily, I thought you were going to kiss me."

"No, I was in bed, I swear."

"No, you were…" Chris was going to finish what he was saying, but he couldn't because he was noticing that Stephanie was not wearing the same thing that she had just been wearing and there was no way that she could've changed her clothes so quickly and then gotten into bed by the time he had walked into her room.

"Chris?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"You didn't change?"

"No, why would I change?" she asked. "I'm comfortable as it is."

"But I swear I just saw you in my room and you were talking to me and making no sense and telling me not to leave you."

"It must've been a dream then," Stephanie said, "Do you want to talk about it."

"No, that wasn't a dream," Chris told her, shaking his head. "It was too real to be a dream, you were too real to be a dream, I could feel you touch me, I felt you touch me. You were touching me."

"I didn't touch you Chris, I swear to God. I wouldn't want a repeat of what happened when you told me…what you told me, remember?"

"I could've sworn that it was you," he said, but now she didn't quite look how she had looked just a little while earlier. She looked better right now. "Maybe it was a dream or something."

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "It must've been."

"Oww," Chris said, grabbing his wrist.

"What's wrong, did you land wrong when you fell?" Stephanie asked, jumping out of bed and kneeling down beside him. "Should I take you to the hospital?"

"The hospital…" Chris said, thinking for a second. "No, I don't need the hospital, I just must've hurt it when I fell. I couldn't see the trunk that you have here. I tripped."

"I heard," Stephanie said. "How's your ankle?"

"I think I'll live," Chris said, trying to ease the tension in his wrist. "It hurts, but it's nothing that I haven't dealt with before. I guess I just need to learn to watch where I'm going."

"Or not to sneak into someone's room at night," Stephanie said, helping Chris up. "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"

"No, I think I've had enough of you for one night, I could do without anymore dreams of you," Chris told her. "Night Stephanie."

"Goodnight Chris, and just remember, it's all a dream, just a dream."


	13. Chapter 13

Chris stared up at the ceiling. He was still trying to figure out that dream he had had about Stephanie. He couldn't figure out why it bothered him so much, but it was bothering him to the point where he couldn't sleep at all. He had honestly thought that she was there, honestly thought that he was awake, but she could not have possibly gotten back to her room, changed, and then climbed in bed and put up the illusion of sleep in the span of him getting out of bed and going into her room.

He was probably just exhausted and thought he had been awake in his dream, but he had really been dreaming. That wasn't Stephanie, it was just a figment of his imagination. He had to say that he was the tiniest bit relieved to actually be having a dream that didn't consist of Stephanie and some fictional family that he had dreamed up. At least right now, he was dreaming of her in the present.

He decided his best course of action was just to forget about it, like he tried to forget about all the other dreams that he had of her. He was staying in her house, keeping her company, she was bound to invade his thoughts, and you usually dreamed of things that were in your head when you went to sleep. That was the only explanation to be had over this peculiar dream.

He closed his eyes and laid there for a few seconds. He felt a soft breeze blow his hair a little bit, presumably from the fan over the bed, keeping him cool. He felt comfortable at the moment, like nothing could go wrong. He liked that feeling, wanted to sink deeper into that feeling and let the gentle wind caress his face, almost like a hand running down his cheek. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next day was bright, at least that's what Chris could tell from the sunlight pouring in through the lacy curtains. He felt really sore though, and he was going to have to tell Stephanie to get a better mattress for this bed. Now it wasn't unusual for a wrestler to wake up sore, just because they abused their bodies so much that they were never without some sort of pain, but this mattress was probably old and that was probably contributing to why he felt so sore this particular morning.

He got out of bed slowly, shaking off the sore muscles and vowing to at least workout so he wouldn't feel so stagnant. Maybe he could even get Stephanie to come along; it would probably let her get some of her emotions out without having to discuss them with anyone. Stephanie wasn't crazy, she just took on too many things to handle. He walked downstairs and saw her sipping coffee on the living room couch.

"Hey," Chris said, from the bottom of the stairs.

Stephanie turned around and smiled, "How's your wrist?"

"Still a little sore, I think I did land on it wrong. I can hardly remember since I was so out of it last night. The dream really threw me for a loop," he told her as he walked over and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, sincerely confused.

"I don't know," she chuckled softly into her coffee mug. "I guess for being in your dreams. I mean, I figure if I had never met you then I wouldn't be in them in the first place."

"But then I wouldn't be a wrestler, and I wouldn't be with Trish, so I'll take the dreams."

"Well, I guess that's good then," Stephanie told him.

"Hey, just a heads up, the mattress in your guest bedroom really sucks, I woke up really, really sore, more so than usual," Chris said, trying to steer the conversation away from the more serious area.

"Oh, thanks, it's not like I have too many visitors though," she pointed out. "You're probably the first person that's slept in that bed in a really, really long time. But I guess I'll buy a new mattress."

"Just letting you know, I was really sore this morning."

"Oh, anywhere in particular?" Stephanie asked, looking him over.

He rubbed his shoulder a little, "My shoulder mostly. I don't know, I just woke up and it was feeling especially bad. Kind of weird how you just discover new aches and pains everyday. I guess that's the kind of life I lead though."

"Here, let me help you out," Stephanie said, setting her mug down and then getting up and walking around the couch.

"What are you doing?" he asked, following her with his eyes.

"Just sit up," she prompted. He obeyed her orders as he sat up straighter, wondering what was up. He found out soon as she laid both her hands on his afflicted shoulder. He was surprised and tensed up a little, but she just kept her hand there. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you."

He didn't know why he took her word for it, but something inside of him told him to trust this woman explicitly. She started to softly rub his shoulder, and he hated to admit it, but it felt so good. Her touch was definitely light and it was almost as if it wasn't there, but she started to get a little firmer in her contact and he bit back a moan at the feeling. She was eliciting a strange feeling in him and he closed his eyes and reveled in it.

He didn't know if he fell asleep, but it was like he could see something just beyond his eyelids, and it was Stephanie. But it was a different Stephanie somehow, and he couldn't quite place why she was different, but it was in the eyes. The eyes of this Stephanie sparkled like…like nothing he had ever seen before. He couldn't explain it adequately and words failed him entirely. If he could describe it, it would take an eternity, because they were so goddamn beautiful.

She was so spectacular, in all her glory, that he didn't want to open his eyes again. He wanted to float, like he was doing. He felt like he was floating, floating away from a place where Trish, and his friends, and his family, and his co-workers all just disappeared. There was only Stephanie, and she was simply…exquisite. He didn't move, for fear that he would disrupt her beauty.

"Chris…" Her voice floated towards him, and it was almost like he could see her voice, like they created colors that he could see and every sound was music and lilting and every poetic word that could do her justice.

He wanted to speak, but found himself unable to. He tried, he opened his mouth and tried to form a word, any word, but none were forming. He tried to cough, but nothing helped and he just saw her there. He couldn't move forward and he couldn't move back and it looked like she couldn't either. He wanted nothing more than to go over to her. He wanted to go over to her and talk to her and touch her, but nothing was working.

"Chris…please…"

"What?" he said, finally able to talk.

"Chris," Stephanie said and he felt her shaking his good shoulder and his eyes shot open and then squinted under the light.

"Huh?" he said, obviously disoriented. Where had he just been?

"You fell asleep on me," Stephanie laughed. "I knew that I was good, but I had no idea that I was that good."

"Wow, I guess I was just tired from last night. I don't know what came over me," Chris told her, even though what he saw was so vivid in his mind, so clear that he could tell anybody any detail, any color that he saw, and he could tell you every square inch of the Stephanie that he had seen.

"You were tired, and I'm sure I wasn't helping you any, I hope that I was able to help your shoulder," she said.

"I think you did," Chris said, rotating it. It did feel a little bit better, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that it was still sore. It felt odd to be this sore and not really do anything to himself. But maybe he had just been sleeping the wrong way. It happened to everyone, and it could surely happen to him.

"You know Chris, you can go back to Trish if you want. I really appreciate everything you've done, but I really am feeling better so you don't have to stay."

"Oh," Chris said, furrowing his brow. "I guess if you want me to leave."

"No, it's not that, I don't WANT you to leave, I'm just saying that you don't have to stick around if you don't want to. It's completely your decision."

"Ok, I guess," Chris said. "I mean, if you want me to go."

"I'm not saying that."

Chris noticed that the tension in the room had risen to dangerous levels. He didn't exactly know why it was going up so high, but he could feel it. He wanted to look at Stephanie, but felt like he couldn't. Nothing could live up to that vision that he had had. Nothing could compare to that, and for some reason, he felt like that was a reality, and this, this was nothing. But this couldn't be nothing, because this was his life.

He sat there, feeling Stephanie's eyes on him and he slowly turned around. There she was and she wasn't the same as his vision, but she was there, and he felt an urge. He got up, not believing it, but feeling this power that was greater than he was walking over to her. She stared at him the entire way, her eyes following his every movement. He stopped in front of her.

She couldn't move, and he couldn't stop moving. He held her face in between his hands as he licked his lips slowly. He leaned in towards her, and he couldn't stop himself. It was like he wasn't even in control of himself. It was like he was being pushed and if he wanted to stop he couldn't, because there was a force at his back.

And so he kissed her. And it wasn't a safe, friendly kiss either. No, this was like the mother of all kisses, all consuming and passionate to the point where Stephanie thought she was going to completely lose her balance because her knees were shaking so bad. She wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him for dear life, letting herself get swept up in the moment.

"_I miss you."_

Chris pulled away abruptly and looked at her. "What just happened?"

"I don't know," Stephanie answered, because honestly she didn't.

Chris had returned to himself now, no longer feeling that push, that invisible force, "I don't know why I did that."

"I don't know either."

"Well, at least we both don't know," he said, trying to make a joke. That didn't even begin to explain why in the hell he had heard Stephanie's voice while they were kissing. But how could he even attempt to explain that.

"Yeah," Stephanie said, still dazed. "You have a girlfriend."

"I know I do," he said. "But you're beautiful."

"You think so."

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life."

Now he wasn't in control of his words. They were coming out too fast, he couldn't stop them, he couldn't catch them before they got away from him. But Stephanie's eyes were changing. They were the same from his dream, the same light was in them, the same…everything. They were her eyes.

"I need you," she whispered, her voice sounding pained almost.

"Steph…"

"Come back."

"I haven't gone anywhere."

"Just come back," she said, and she raised her hand, caressing his cheek with the back of her hand. Her touch felt so good, so soothing that he suddenly forgot that he was sore. He forgot so many things and felt like he was being sucked into another realm.

"I told you Steph, I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."

"How did you get yourself into this mess?" she asked with a wry laugh. "How did this happen?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he responded.

"I just wish…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes darted anywhere and everywhere all at once, like if she focused on him, they would tear up and she'd never gain her composure. He wanted to get her to look at him, but it seemed impossible, like he couldn't get her attention.

"Stephanie, what do you wish?"

"I just wish…I just wish that none of this had happened. My life…our life, I don't know which is which anymore, and I just know that if I lose you, if I lose…I just…I don't know what to think anymore."

"Stephanie, please, tell me what's going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't know up from down anymore, and I don't know left from right, I feel cooped up in this place, and I can't get free and I try, but I just can't leave here…I can't leave you. I mean…they…I just can't."

Chris stared at her, and her eyes were finally fixed on his. But they weren't. They were staring through him. It was like he wasn't even there or something. Like she was looking somewhere that he could never touch. But he could see fear in her eyes and he couldn't explain it. He let the tear roll down her cheek and just stared at her.

He was starting to feel like they weren't even in the same universe.


	14. Chapter 14

The situation with Stephanie was troubling him. He couldn't think to explain his feelings or her feelings. They were so jumbled up and he couldn't figure out what he was doing anymore. He liked Trish, but he liked Stephanie too. That kiss…that kiss had been like a dream, like that idea you have when you're younger and you see all the movies and you think kisses are supposed to be this spectacular event. The kiss he had shared with Stephanie had been exactly like that.

It confused him that he could have such passion with someone he didn't know. But there were times, moments, that he felt like he knew her better than anyone. But how could that be? How could he feel like he knew her when all logic said that he didn't? He couldn't explain it and it was plaguing him. It was churning in his stomach, acidic and bitter. How could he kiss her? How could he do that to Trish?

"Chris?" came Stephanie's small voice from the doorway.

"What is it?" he asked, trying not to sound testy, but he didn't know how else to sound. He was a horrible human being and he had done a horrible, horrible thing.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Not really," he answered truthfully.

"I know you're confused," Stephanie said, coming into the room a little bit more. "I'm confused too."

"Look, we'll just forget it, because that's what has to be done."

"Ok then," she nodded. "That's fine, if you want to forget it, we will."

"What!" he asked, incensed. "You want to forget it!"

"I thought YOU wanted to forget it," Stephanie asked, alarmed with how forceful he had just sounded. "I mean, you just said that you wanted to forget it."

"I don't know what came over me just now," Chris said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It was a great kiss, I'm just really confused right now."

"It WAS a great kiss," Stephanie smiled. "I'll just give you time to think. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Ok."

She left him then, and he just laid back against the bed. He didn't know when he dozed off, but he did. He fell asleep, and there was just darkness. Just a darkness that surrounded him, but he opened his eyes and he realized it was nighttime. He had fallen asleep. He got up and walked out into the hallway. The lights were on downstairs so he headed down there. Stephanie was having a cup of coffee in the kitchen and he smiled at her.

"I fell asleep," he explained.

"I know," Stephanie said. "I went to check on you and you were conked out. Are you hungry or anything?"

"No, but I think I'm going to go," Chris said. He had made the decision as he had woken up. "I'm going to go to Canada and visit my parents. I think I just really need to clear my head with all this stuff."

"I completely understand," Stephanie said. "I don't want to pressure you to stay here or anything."

"I know," he said. He went over and gave her a tentative hug. "Maybe if I clear my head I'll know what I want."

"I hope you find out whatever it is you want," Stephanie whispered against his shirt.

His parents had welcomed him with open arms when he had called from the Winnipeg airport. His father was on his way to the airport right now, insisting that Chris not take a taxi or anything of the sort. He sat on a chair in front of the airport, sunglasses on, wanting to remain inconspicuous. He loved the fans, but now was not the time to see them. He just needed to clear his mind, to not think about Stephanie or Trish.

The trip itself had almost seemed a blur, like it had gone at warp speed. He could barely remember the particulars, like hours had flown by in minutes, but he was probably just anxious to get away from the two women that were plaguing his mind. He looked up just in time to see his father pulling up in the car. He grabbed his things and got into the car, shaking hands with his father.

"Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Well, other than a surprise visit from you, nothing," Ted chuckled.

"Sorry about that, I just needed to get away for a while."

"Why?"

That was such a loaded question that Chris didn't even know where to begin. He just decided to start off simply. "Women troubles."

"Ahh, the eternal problem," Ted said knowingly. "I thought things were good with Trish though, you said they were last time we talked."

"They WERE," Chris said, emphasizing that, that was in the past as this new problem had popped up quite suddenly. "It would be easy if Trish was the only woman in my life Dad. But she's not, at least, I don't think she is."

"What happened?"

"You know Stephanie McMahon."

"I do," Ted confirmed.

"Well, I keep…" he paused, thinking he was crazy for telling his father this kind of stuff. "I keep having these dreams about Stephanie and I can't stop."

"Dreams?"

"Not those kind of dreams," Chris mumbled embarrassedly. "More like dreams that I have a family with her. Two little boys, and we're married and together and happy. And I keep having them, and when I think they're gone, there they are again. I wasn't even friends with Stephanie when they were happening."

"Oh, but after you started dreaming these dreams, you had to talk to her."

"Yeah," Chris said, surprised his father was right. "And that's when things got complicated. Sometimes Dad, it's like, it's like I've known her forever, that I know her inside out and that's not a feeling I get with Trish, but it's something I get with Stephanie. But I'm with Trish, and I think I love her, or something, I don't know."

"Yeah, I'd want to get away too if I were you."

"Not helping Dad," Chris said sarcastically. "I thought I wanted Trish, but Stephanie and I, we kissed yesterday and…God, I know this is going to sound so girly, but it felt so right. Like that was what I was supposed to be doing."

"So isn't your choice made then?"

"You'd think so, but I'm still with Trish."

"But maybe you're attracted to Stephanie. Maybe she's the one for you and these dreams have just been trying to show you what you really want and what you can have if you date Stephanie."

His father brought up a good point, a point that Chris hadn't really thought of. Maybe the dreams weren't just dreams, weird and unpredictable. Maybe they were a precursor. Maybe it was what he was going to have if he went with Stephanie. He hated Trish in his dreams, maybe that just meant he wasn't supposed to be with Trish. But hadn't he been happy with Trish?

"Maybe you're right," Chris said softly, going quiet after that, just taking in the familiar sights of Winnipeg. His father would glance at him every now and then, but didn't pry. His son was obviously confused, and he couldn't help him make such a big decision about his potential future.

They arrived at the house and Chris got his things, throwing them just inside the doorway when he entered his house. He could hear moving around coming from the living room and he went in there and his mother grinned as she went over to him. He hugged her tightly and lifted her up off the ground easily. She pushed him playfully as he set her down.

"There's my little boy," Loretta said, patting his cheek. "I was surprised that you wanted to come visit us."

"I needed a break from my life Mom," Chris said, sounding like such a little boy to her. But that's what he was to her; he was her little boy and he always would be. She gave him a motherly smile.

"What's wrong little boy?" she asked, knowing that he needed his mother right now. Her intuition was kicking in right now.

"I think I may be in love."

"Well that's nothing to take a break from," she said, leading him over to the couch. "Falling in love is a good thing."

"I don't think it's with my girlfriend Mom," he told her, cringing as he said it. He hadn't really expressed the fact that he wasn't really falling in love with Trish. She kept saying it and saying it and he felt more than compelled to feel the same way so as not to break her heart, but he was almost incapable of saying the words at all.

"Oh," his mother said seriously. "Who is it with then?"

"You know Stephanie McMahon…her."

"Her?" his mother asked, slightly surprised. "I wasn't aware you were close."

"We weren't, I mean, we did work together for two years, and sometimes we'd have a drink or dinner to share ideas for our storyline, but…then I started to have dreams about her, and they were so vivid Mom. We had a family, we were married, I was insanely happy. Then I'd wake up beside Trish, and think, geez, why not Trish?"

"Have you been spending a lot of time with Stephanie lately?"

"Yeah, she had an anxiety attack, so I was staying with her for a few days, to make sure that she was ok, because I was worried, she works a lot, so much Mom."

"Uh huh," she said, letting him continue his story when he was ready to continue it.

"And we kissed, and in fear of sounding cliché, it was good. I felt…it with her, I guess you can say. It."

"Oh…it. That's a very powerful thing," she said, understanding what he meant by that.

"Yeah, and so…what do I do?"

"You just have to do what you feel is the right thing to do," his mother told him. "You have to do what feels right to do, not what you think is right, what feels right."

"Can't you just tell me which one to go with Mom?" he asked hopefully, his eyes imploring her to make this big decision for him.

"Little boy, I would, you know I would, but I can't decide your future, that's a road you have to pave all on your own."

"I think I'm going to go lie down for a while Mom, call me for dinner?" Chris asked.

"Of course."

Chris smiled at her before getting off the couch and trudging up the stairs to his old room. It looked the same and it was always a comfort to be here. Some things you just didn't want to ever change. Change wasn't a bad thing, but when you needed to reflect, when you needed time to yourself, there was no better place than a place you were most familiar with and one that wouldn't change, no matter how complicated your life became.

He laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and sighing deeply. He just stared up for a few minutes before closing his eyes, just trying to think things out in his mind. He must've been really sleepy, or the thinking had been too hard since he fell asleep pretty soon afterwards. His body settled into the snugness of the bed, a calm surrounding his body, his mind becoming blank and not thinking of blondes or brunettes.

When he opened his eyes later, he couldn't make out anything in the room. It was dark and he had been asleep for hours. He tried to move, but he was pretty comfortable and his limbs seemed heavy from his slumber. He groaned quietly, almost imperceptible to his own ears. He looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. The door opened slightly, letting some light peek through and he said the kind face of his mother.

"You're awake," she said.

"Yeah," Chris mumbled.

"If only you'd wake up fully."

"Geez, give me a few minutes Mom," Chris joked, but she didn't laugh. Instead, she came over and sat down on the edge of his bed, patting his leg gently.

"We're worried about you."

"Who, you and Dad?" Chris asked her.

"We're just worried for everyone involved. I guess that's a parent thing, but we just want you to be here…with us."

"I am with you Mom," Chris said, sitting up a little bit. "And I'm worried about Stephanie and Trish too. If I choose one, I'm going to hurt the other, and I hate hurting people like that."

"Little boy, she needs you."

"Who?" Chris asked.

"Stephanie needs you little boy, she needs you like you wouldn't believe," Loretta told him and he sat up even further and squinted to see his mother's face. He was confused now. How could she know about Stephanie, and what Stephanie needed? How did she know what she saying? Was she making the choice for him?

"Mom, I appreciate the fact that you would choose for me, but I really should make this decision myself."

"You should see the way she looks at you when you're not aware, when you're…" she trailed off, sighing and looking away, like it pained her to say the words. "You don't have to see the look."

"Was this when I got knocked out during the match?" Chris asked. "How did she look at me Mom?" She didn't answer and Chris leaned forward a little bit, his voice more urgent. "Mom, how did Stephanie look at me?"

He was desperate to find out this information. Did Stephanie look at him in a way that had been caring or loving? Had she given him any indication that she had feelings for him when he had gotten injured? He had told her then, that he loved her, that he wanted her, but he was pretty much unconscious and didn't know what he was saying, but she did. If she had given him a certain look…maybe he wasn't crazy in these feelings for her.

"She is pleading with whatever there is up there Chris, she's pleading for you," his mother said finally, her voice choking up a little bit.

Chris sat back. "And she tried to protect my feelings. She didn't try to sway my decision with her feelings. She left it up to me. She must really care about me if she didn't even try to tell me how she felt about me."

"If you're going to come back, come back for her."

"You mean go back to her, right Mom?"

"I'll be back in a bit," his mother said, patting his leg again and then leaning over to kiss his forehead. "Sit tight."

Chris watched his mother leave and then started thinking about Stephanie again. If she did indeed have feelings for him, how unselfish of her to not act upon those feelings and let him be with Trish. What if he had been the one to cause her anxiety attack though? Now he was feeling guilty. Maybe he'd have to think this Stephanie thing more thoroughly. His mother was making a lot of sense.

He just wished he knew why she said come back.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Sorry about the lengthy wait between chapters, but I could not for the life of me figure out how I wanted to transition between last chapter and what I have written for the next chapter. The update for this should be a lot quicker considering I already have it written. So enjoy. :)

* * *

Chris was thinking. It seemed to be the only thing he was good at doing lately. He just thought and thought and thought some more. It was almost like he was stagnant in a way. It was like he couldn't move forward and yet he didn't move backwards. He felt like the energy had been sapped right out of his body. It was a strange feeling to say the least, but he didn't know how to break free of it.

Everything was confusing him at the moment. It was like he wasn't in his own body sometimes. He got the sensation that he was just floating through his life, like events and people were blurs to him, and he couldn't really sense anything. The only thing that he could see clearly, for some inexplicable reason, was Stephanie. She was clear…or at least he thought she was clear.

But things would never work out between the two of them and he couldn't believe he was even contemplating the idea of them together. But then when he looked at it, it just seemed…right somehow. But then there was Trish, and she was great too, and they had a good time together. And then yet again, his mother was telling him to go to Stephanie and his mother had always had good judgment. They were always saying that you should listen to your mother.

So there he lay, in his childhood bed, staring up at the ceiling he stared up at when he was younger and dreaming of becoming a big wrestler someday. But now he was just a confused grown-up, who had gotten one dream, but seemed mired in another. He didn't know how long he lay there, staring at his ceiling, but eventually he nodded off to sleep and the maddening dreams came again.

"_Chris, honey, you wouldn't ever leave me would you?"_

"_Leave you?" he asked, like it was the silliest question in the universe. "I would NEVER leave you, I mean, why would I leave you? I love you and I don't even find other women attract--"_

"_No, not like that, don't die on me Chris," she pleaded in a whisper._

_Chris looked over at his wife, and saw that she was being serious right now. There was no teasing or playfulness in her eyes. "Steph, where is this coming from?"_

"_I just don't want you to die," she told him. "I was watching this show last night, and there was this woman with five kids and her husband had died, and she was raising them all by herself, and it made me scared. I don't want you to die Chris."_

"_Steph, I'm right here. I'm in perfect health, you know that. I just had my physical last month, and I'm perfect, as usual."_

"_But anything could happen," Stephanie told him. "Freak accidents happen all the time, you slip in the tub or something and you hit your head and then it's lights out."_

"_Steph, we don't take showers in the tub, we have a shower and we have a tub, two totally separate things."_

"_Chris, you're not getting me here," she said, frustrated that he was taking this so lightly. "I'm just scared that one day I'm going to wake up and you're not going to be there next to me. That one day I'm going to wake up, and you're not."_

"_Steph, that's not going to happen," Chris told her. "I would never leave you and the boys, I will do everything in my power to make sure that I'm here for years and years to come. I will even live longer than you so that you never have to live without me okay?"_

"_You'd do that for me?"_

"_I am damn sure going to try."_

"_I want to go together," she confessed. "I don't think I could bear any place that didn't have you in it, even if it is heaven."_

"_You think of weird things when I'm not around, you know that," he told her with a soft chuckle. "That's the last time that I go to sleep before you do and let you watch things that make you think that I'm suddenly going to spontaneously combust into thin air."_

"_It's a viable concern!" she protested. "I mean, that's the reason that we both have wills right?" _

"_Yeah, but that's just a precaution, it doesn't mean that I have my tombstone picked out or anything. You have a will too and you don't see me worrying that you're going to take the long journey."_

"_You're not worried?"_

"_Why should I worry unless I have reason to worry?" Chris asked her._

"_I don't know, because it's the right thing to do, to worry about your wife."_

"_I do worry about you, but I'm not going to worry needlessly. I mean, sure, I'll worry that one day you'll meet some guy and realize that he's a million times better than me and then you'll have an affair and leave me humiliated, but no, I'm not going to worry about you dying."_

"_YOU worry about me having an affair?"_

"_Well sure, in the general sense, yeah. Like, it could happen I suppose. It's a base concern."_

"_If anyone should worry about that, I should worry about YOU."_

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's that supposed to mean?" Chris inquired. "You can't seriously think that I would cheat on you."_

"_I didn't say that," she explained. _

"_Then what did you say because I'm thinking that I heard you wrong."_

"_All I'm saying is that you're the one who travels all the time and is surrounded by ring rats, and you know, you are hot."_

"_Well that's a given."_

"_Exactly, and you must have women throwing themselves at you when I'm not around. I understand the nature of the business, I grew up in it after all, and I know it. I'm just saying that if anyone had a more clear-cut opportunity to cheat it would be you, because the only boys that I see are our sons."_

"_I wouldn't cheat on you, you know that."_

"_I DO know that, I'm just talking about the opportunity to do it."_

"_Even if I had the opportunity, I wouldn't take it. I would never do anything like that to you or the boys."_

"_Chris, I know, I'm just saying."_

"_How did this turn into a discussion about cheating?" _

_Stephanie shrugged and looked at him from across the bed. In between the two of them were two little boys laying haphazardly across the bed. Stephanie currently had a little foot slung over her hip and Chris had a hand resting against his neck. The rain was pounding against the window, and the boys had been too frightened to stay in their rooms, instead ganging up on him and Stephanie and asking to sleep with them for the evening._

_The pounding was getting louder and louder…_

Chris woke up with a start, his body jerking awake. He sat up quickly and heard rain pattering against the window loudly. It must've woken him up, and the weather outside matched his mood right now. It had been raining in his dream, just like this. It was like he was reliving his dreams, and he almost expected to look over and see Stephanie next to him. In fact, he did take a quick peek over and found that he was indeed alone.

"I just don't get it," he muttered to himself. "She seems so real."

"Who seems real?"

He looked up and saw Stephanie leaning in the doorway. "Stephanie!"

"Who seems real?" she asked.

"How did you get here?" he asked her.

"I have my ways," she told him cryptically. "I should be asking what you're doing…"

"I thought I told you that I needed some space," he said, trying not to sound testy. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her, but it was just that he didn't know what he wanted yet. He didn't know if Stephanie was the one for him.

"I don't think you do."

"Stephanie, what's up with you?"

"I'm tired Chris, I'm tired of this!" she said exasperated.

"I'm sorry that I'm putting you through this. I know that it's not fair to you, but I don't know what to do."

She shook her head. "You have to choose Chris. You have to choose what you want. You have to choose between these two worlds. Do you want Trish, or do you want me? It's not that difficult to choose you know."

"I know it shouldn't be, but this is my life!"

Stephanie stalked over to him and stood over him. He looked up at her and suddenly she pushed him back on the bed. Chris was stunned by her prowess and could do nothing but continue to stare up at her. She mounted him, crawling lithely up his body, her eyes never leaving his. She smiled menacingly down at him.

"Steph…um, maybe you should get off of me, this is…I still have a girlfriend."

"Whatever Chris," she said, her voice lowering to almost a growl.

"Stephanie, stop," he said, trying to push her off.

"No," she asserted, pushing him back down. She was incredibly strong and he was feeling weaker and weaker.

"Come on Stephanie, this is wrong."

"No," she said again, lower now.

He looked up at her and it was like her eyes were glowing, they were actually scaring him. He was getting scared by her, this wasn't Stephanie, this wasn't her at all. "It's like you're not even real."

"Finally!" Stephanie said, getting off of him. Then everything started to fade. "Finally…"

"What are you talking about? What's going on," Chris said, looking around as it seemed everything was fading. Was he still dreaming?

He must still be dreaming because his world was fading away and all that was left was Stephanie standing there. She was just standing there like nothing, her arms and legs not moving. She was changing too; she wasn't so scary anymore. Her face softened and he couldn't focus on anything but her. Her hair fell gently over her shoulders, but there seemed to be a slight breeze. He walked towards her.

"Am I dreaming?"

She shrugged. "I can't tell you what you're doing Chris, I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"You seem so real."

"I know. But I'm not."

"Oh," he said, not the witty response he was hoping for, but what could he do? "And Trish, this entire thing, I'm going to wake up and I'm going to be with her aren't I?"

"Possibly," Stephanie answered, grabbing his hands. "Depends on what's your own reality is."

"So we're not together."

"Me and you? ME and you? No, we're not," she said, emphasizing and weighing her words carefully. "I AM a dream, if that's what you were thinking. Well, I'm kind of a dream, kind of a…sign, I guess you can say."

"Are you my guardian angel?" he joked.

She laughed, lilting and airy. "Not really."

"So why you?" he asked her.

"When you open your eyes, you'll see why you see me," she explained. "Everything will be explained, I swear. I'm just a dream to you, I'm just saying the things that you need to hear, need to think, but you're too stubborn to think them for yourself."

"Don't tell me that you're my conscience."

"No, I'm not your conscience," she reassured him. "I'm…nothing really. I'm not your reality, and a dream is nothing, not really. So I'm nothing."

"Why do I keep dreaming about you?" he asked her.

"You're projecting is all," she explained. "I swear, once you really open your eyes, everything is going to be so clear. And everything will make sense and I swear you won't be confused and your life will make sense."

"Okay, so let me ask the million dollar question then," he said. "When do I get to open my eyes?"

"That's all up to you," Stephanie answered. "Because I can't do it for you, Lord knows that. You just have to open them, to stop dreaming. But it's up to you when you do so."

"I see, you're kind of a bitch aren't you?"

She shook her head. "I'm only the way that you imagine me to be, if I'm a bitch to you, then I'm a bitch. But I think we both know that you don't think of me as a bitch, do you?"

"No," he said. "So when I open my eyes, Trish is going to be there, and everything will be good with her, right?"

Stephanie sighed and brought her hand up to his face. She ran it down his cheek gently. "You still haven't figured everything out, and that's okay, but you're going to have to figure everything out before you open your eyes. You have to remember everything and you have to know who you're in love with."

He looked at her for a long moment. "I think I'm in love with you Stephanie."

"You think or you know?"

"Huh?

"You think you're in love with me, or you know you're in love with me, there's a big difference there Chris."

"I'm in love with you Stephanie. I'm so in love with you. I don't know how and I don't know when, but it happened, and I'd be kidding myself in thinking that things will ever be the same with Trish, they'll never be the same and I know that now."

She closed her eyes. "That's all I needed to hear. I'll see you on the other side Chris."

She faded away then and Chris was starting to panic. Now he was completely and utterly alone. He looked down and saw that he appeared to be fading as well. Everything was getting cloudy and dark, like he was being sucked somewhere. He got a foreboding feeling and didn't know where he would end up next.


	16. Chapter 16

Chris had no idea what had just happened and he felt strange, like the world was suddenly revolving strictly around him. This was quite possibly the strangest dream that he had ever had in his entire life. It felt so much more real than a dream, but people didn't just appear and disappear at will without this being some sort of hallucination. He didn't know how to wake himself up though, so he stood there, doing nothing, feeling nothing, just standing there.

"Hey there sailor," came a new voice and he turned around.

"Trish, what are you doing here?" Chris asked, suddenly feeling guilty for the confession that he had given Stephanie earlier…if that was earlier, he had no real sense of time at the moment.

"Well, I'm what you're thinking about right this moment," she said, punctuating her words with a finger as she stepped closer to him. "You thought of me and suddenly, here I am."

"Yes, here you are."

"So why'd you want me here, I mean, I know that Stephanie was here earlier, but now I'm here and so I must have more precedent in your life right? Since I came last, and they always say that you save the best for last."

"You know that Stephanie was here?"

"Yes, and I know your dirty, little secret. So when did it happen, huh Chris? When did you fall in love with her?" Trish asked, her voice void of any malice or contempt, but simply one filled with a child-like curiosity.

"I don't know, I just…"

"Tell me, I'm not real, I'm just your imagination, confess what you need to confess."

"I fell in love with her after I had these dreams about our life. And then I just…I can't stay away from her, I don't know what it is, I don't know how she got in my head in the first place. I don't want to hurt you Chris."

"You're not hurting me Chris," Trish said, running her hands down his broad chest. "Because you're not leaving me. I'm not going anywhere. I can't go anywhere, I'm your girlfriend, or have you forgotten?"

"But I'm in love with Stephanie," he protested.

"Does Trish know that? The real Trish, the one you actually know, does she know that you're in love with Stephanie?"

"No, not really…"

"Then she's still your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, but as soon as I wake up, I'll break up with her. I mean, we had a good run, but it wasn't going to work out anyways. So we just go our separate ways and that's that. I mean, simple, right?"

"Wrong," Trish giggled. "You don't want to hurt Trish's feelings. You don't want to break her heart like you did when you had the bet going. So, do you know what you're going to do Chris?"

"What?"

"You're going to stay with her, because that's the kind of guy that you are. You're the kind of guy that doesn't break someone's heart. That's who you ARE. Don't you get it Chris? You're one of the good ones. Too good probably."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you don't have what it takes to break it off with Trish. You're just going to keep staying with her because you won't work up the nerve to dump her. Think about the situation Chris, you're with Trish, and then you fall for Stephanie while you're with her. How do you think that's going to make her feel?"

"Well, I can't help that."

"And that means you're going to stay with her. Don't you love Trish, Chris? She's stuck by you through a lot of things, has Stephanie?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" she said cryptically. "Doesn't it matter that Trish has always been there for you? Doesn't it matter that she took you back even after you were in on a bet to sleep with her? Does any of that matter?"

"No, it shouldn't."

"You're just a good guy Chris, that's it, nothing to be ashamed of, you're just a good guy and you aren't going to change. I mean, you've already cheated on Trish, kissing Stephanie like you did. Do you really think that after that guilt, you're going to just turn around and dump her?"

Chris hadn't thought about that kiss and the fact that he was still with Trish. "I don't know."

"Of course you don't," Trish said with a smile. "You don't know because now the seeds of doubt are planted in your brain. You hate hurting people Chris, you don't like to do it. Isn't that why you ran to Stephanie after you heard about her nervous breakdown?"

"I felt like she might've needed someone."

"Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, but you thought that it could've been your fault. Deep down, you were worried that it was your fault. How are you going to feel if you dump Trish and she has a nervous breakdown? Are you going to feel so guilty that you run back to her?"

"You're just trying to confuse me."

She shrugged. "But it's in your mind now."

"Go away."

"Your wish is my command…but make the right decision Chris."

1He was seeped into the inky darkness that surrounded him. He felt like he was suspended in time and space, not even a person anymore, but more like an entity, a spirit surrounded by the dark sky with no stars in sight. It was an odd feeling and yet strangely peaceful. He saw Trish again, up ahead, where it seemed to be light, saw many of the times he had spent with her, and she had made him happy, and he tried to reach out for it, but he couldn't reach it.

He was being pulled back by something, but he couldn't turn his head to look at what it was. His eyes remained focused on Trish and he could see the time he apologized to her and she took him back. But then the scenes started to change, started to fade and he saw Trish fading.

"What's going on?" he muttered as the images shifted.

This time they were dreams he had been having of Stephanie. The dreams that haunted him night in and night out. He saw that life that his mind had built and was confused to see so many of those images pass in front of him. But perhaps he was dreaming now, maybe this was just a dream.

"Chris, come back to me," a voice said softly, but the sound reverberated through this empty space and echoed until it was the only thing he heard.

He wanted to call out, but when he tried to it was drowned out by the voice. Was it Trish, trying to call out for him? Maybe she was trying to wake him up from this dream state. He tried to break free, but he was still being held by something, and he tried to call her name again, but before he could, all sound stopped.

"Chris, baby, please come back to me, we need you…"

He didn't understand what was going on, but whatever it was, he desperately wanted to find out what it was. He stopped trying to think and concentrated on opening his eyes. But that was hard too, because he felt like lead suddenly, unable to move. And again, the visions came, but this one starred Trish again, the same scene as before.

"_Trish, what I did, I know that was inexcusable."_

"_You're damn right it was," she said, "I trusted you Chris, I thought you had feelings for me, but obviously you don't. I was a bet to you. I know that in the past I was seen as nothing but a slut, with the T&A and everything, but I've changed and to be treated as a simple whore in your schemes, that hurt beyond anything, even everything Vince put me through."_

_Those words stung and he looked down, "I'm sorry, I know those words aren't the best, but they're sincere. I'm sorry, I…it did start as a bet, but somewhere down the road of that, I fell so hard and so fast for you."_

"_How can I even trust what you're telling me? This could still be a part of the bet and you could be lying to me right now."_

"_Trish, I swear on everything that I am, that I am NOT lying to you right now, with my heart, I'm telling you this."_

"_It's going to take a while for me to trust you," she said, giving in to his words, his charm, everything about him, she was just giving in._

"_I know," he whispered, leaning in closer and closer to her, his eyes targeting her lips._

"_As long as you know," she whispered back as she closed the distance between their lips._

Chris watched as the scene faded before him. Well, yeah, that's how it had gone, but why was he reliving that scene and why did it seem so surreal now? It didn't seem real, but maybe that was due to his surroundings, nothing seemed real around him, how could it when there was nothing.

"I need you Chris, I need you so badly…"

The voice again. Where was it coming from? He couldn't look behind him, but everywhere else, he tried to look and still…nothing. This voice was starting to haunt him, like those dreams with Stephanie. Had he been injured? That had to be it. This was too…real to be a dream, and yet too dream-like to be reality.

Another scene flashed before his eyes and suddenly he went right back to thinking that he was dreaming, because there was Stephanie and she was smiling at him. It was like the scene out of a dream. She was standing in the middle of a rainstorm and her bangs were sticking to her forehead, her dress clinging to her curves and she was smiling and looking at him through narrowed eyes as she tried to keep the rain away from her face.

"_Chris, get out of the rain, you're going to catch a cold."_

"_We will," he said as two little boys chased him around the grassy expanse of their backyard._

"_You're all going to be sick in bed!"_

"_Well, at least we'll have you to take care of us," Chris laughed as Brennan tackled his leg. Chris fell to the ground in laughter._

"_Yeah, I wouldn't be too sure about that," Stephanie said as she started to walk away towards the house. The three boys got up and Chris jogged over to Stephanie, putting his arms around her and kissing her neck, the rain making her taste so sweet._

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too, even if you are as stubborn as a mule."_

"_But you still love us right?"_

"_There will never be a day that I won't love you. There will never be a moment where I don't love you anymore."_

The scene faded out again and he was in the darkness once again. This was all becoming way too confusing. It was like he was being shown two different paths, but he couldn't go down either of them. All he knew was that Trish was his reality, and Stephanie was his dream reality, if such a thing existed.

"Chris, don't leave me…"

Leave who? Now he was just getting irritated, wanting to know what was going on and who was speaking to him, or rather pleading to him rather desperately. He wanted to find out who it was, but it didn't seem that that was going to happen. Now he was just sick of it.

"I want out!" he yelled at nothing and nowhere in particular.

And just like that, everything turned white and he was standing, instead of floating like he was before. There was a door and he found that he could walk and went straight for it. Looking around for a moment he grabbed the gold knob and turned it.

Chris opened his eyes to look up at the ceiling. The room was unnaturally dark, the curtains drawn and the door partially closed so that little to no light traveled through to the room. His eyes adjusted to the dark a little and why he was in the hospital, his mind was hazy at best, and it was pounding so he had trouble concentrating.

He noticed a figure stir on the seat next to him, but couldn't see who it was because of the darkness of the room and what appeared to be a blanket covering the person. He looked around, expecting the lights to turn on, both figuratively and literally. The person mumbled and shifted again and he found his voice enough to say.

"Hey."

The lump jerked up and looked at him, though he couldn't quite make them out, "Chris!"

He recognized the voice immediately and smiled, "Yeah, it's me."

"Oh Chris!" The woman (he had figured that out by now) threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, despite him wincing in pain from the hug.

"Hey you."

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been over you!"

"A lot," he ventured to say.

"God, I thought you were going to die," she said, her tears apparent in her voice, "They said you it was bad Chris…really bad. I…I can't live without you Chris."

"Babe, I'm not going anywhere."

"When you fell, they…it was so bad Chris, I had to turn away, I didn't know what to do, I ran out there to be with you and left--"

He hugged her tighter, "Hey, hey, now don't cry, I'm here and I can feel all my extremities and I know who you are and everything."

"If you know who I am, tell me my name right now…"


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: So this is the last chapter. I don't really like it, but it wraps up everything that I wanted to wrap up. I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope that you review and then go read some of my other stories if you haven't yet done so. Anyways, enjoy. :)

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"If you know who I am, tell me my name right now."

"Why do you want me to tell you your name, I know your name."

"Just tell me my name," she demanded.

"Why?" he argued.

"I need to be sure that you aren't seriously hurt."

Chris sighed and relented, "Stephanie McMahon-Jericho, I think I know who my wife is."

"Good," she said, kissing him over and over again. "Please don't do this again, I thought I'd lost you, how can I go on without you?"

"How long was I out for?"

"Four days," she sobbed, "You sometimes regained consciousness, but you had this blank look on your face and you didn't say anything. Your eyes would just open and you'd stare."

"How long have you been here?"

"Four days," she said, "I've only left to eat and change my clothes, I didn't want to be anywhere else in case you woke up and I wasn't here to be the first thing you saw."

"Well you were and I'm all the better for it."

"I missed you so much!"

"Where are Bren and Reid?"

"With my parents," she said, "They're fine, they just think you're sick. I couldn't bear to tell them what was really going on. I mean, they were so scared and everything and I didn't want them to see you like this, in this condition."

"I understand, I had the weirdest time."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know that storyline with Trish I did, remember?"

"Uh huh, and then we put her with Christian because they're together in real life, before she turned into that horrible skank," Stephanie said, wondering if this conversation was going to go anywhere or if Chris was so out of it that he was thinking that this was a recent thing.

"I dreamt that I had actually been with her."

"Oh, that's great," Stephanie said, her jaw setting, "You're unconscious for four days and all the while, you're dreaming about Trish."

"No, it wasn't just that."

"What, you were married to her as well?" Stephanie asked as she pulled away to sit on the bed and stare at her husband. She didn't find it appropriate that the first thing her husband decided to discuss was dreams of him dating another woman. Talk about your humiliating situations. Hadn't he even thought about her?

"No, the thing was, in the dream or hallucination or whatever the hell that was, I kept dreaming about you, and the boys, and I couldn't stop dreaming about you and I tried to be your friend, and I think I fell in love with you," he explained, going over the images that were playing in loop in his brain during his brief descent from the world of the living.

"Yeah?" Stephanie said, "You fell in love with me in a parallel universe or something."

"I think that we're just meant to be," Chris said, grabbing her hand, "Babe, you look so tired, why don't you go back to wherever the hell you're staying and get a good nap and some food."

"But you just woke up!" she cried, her face stricken, like she feared that he would disappear if she was to leave.

"I know, but babe, you need your rest. And if you're so worried, go call your parents and let them bring Bren and Reid over to show them that I'm alright, that way they can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't disappear into thin air."

"They have been asking to see you."

"Yeah, so bring them here, and they can take care of me and I'm sure your parents would like to see me as well."

"I don't want to go in case I'm dreaming again. When I saw you fall off the top of that cage onto the ground and I..." Her voice choked up as she put a hand on her stomach, feeling it almost drop like it had before when she watched him fall, as if in slow-motion, his shoulder hitting the ground first while his head crashed against the table sickly, his leg bent in the strangest way.

"I'm a little worse for the wear, but nothing that can't be fixed," he told her, "I don't remember much about falling except my grip slipping and me trying to hold on."

She brushed his hair back, "I thought you were gone. You didn't wake up. That first night, the doctor's said there was a chance you wouldn't make it through the night. They weren't sure of the damage to your brain, they said there could be swelling, so they had to do an MRI to see and the results took a while…my dad said to them that they weren't talking about an ordinary guy, they were talking about Chris Jericho who refused to get injured."

"I obviously made it through the night," he said to her, "And the next, and the next, until I made sure I was back with you."

"You took way too long," she said, a sad laugh arising from her lips.

"I tried my best to come back."

"I'm sure you did," Stephanie answered, "But still, when they told me you could die. DIE Chris."

"But I'm not dead am I?" he asked, "If I were dead, could I be having this conversation with you?"

"But maybe I'm dreaming or something," she said, "Maybe this is all a dream, like you were in a dream. How do I know that you're real?"

Chris reached out and pinched her, causing her to yelp in pain, "That hurt, so it's real."

"Ok, I get it," she said, rubbing her arm, "You didn't have to pinch me so hard."

"Sorry babe, so how badly am I injured?" he said, not being able to see the extent of his injuries since it was still dark.

"Broke your leg in three places, you had a major concussion, like I said, cuts and bruises, dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, and you almost shattered your pelvis."

"Great," he laughed hollowly. "So how long am I out for?"

"A while. But don't worry about that right now, we should be happy that you're awake."

"I know, I am happy. Maybe I should be the one to call the kids so they know that I'm awake."

"I think they'd like that," Stephanie said.

"Okay, but first, have you been sleeping in that chair for the past four days?" he asked.

She nodded and he shook his head. Though it was painful, he scooted over a little in the bed. Stephanie looked at him strangely and he patted the bed with his good hand. She looked at him hesitantly, not wanting to hurt him anymore and he just kept patting the bed. She finally broke and eagerly climbed in next to him, burying her head into his neck, despite the fact that he had been in the hospital for four days. She didn't give a shit at the moment, all she wanted was to feel Chris near her. She started sobbing again and he held her.

"Shh babe, it's alright," Chris said, stroking her hair soothingly. "I'm okay, everything is going to be fine. And this way , I get to spend time at home with you and the boys. You get me all to yourself for once."

"That's true," Stephanie sniffled. "And we don't have to share you with anyone."

"Yup, you don't have to share me with anyone. You can monopolize all my time. Or you can make me do all the chores around the house that you've been wanting me to do forever."

"When you are actually mobile maybe," Stephanie said, closing her eyes. "I wish I could ask you to never wrestle again."

"Now we're going a little too far," Chris said. "Just because I'm hurt doesn't mean that I can't go back. Accidents happen, and this was an accident."

"I know, but I worry about your safety now. You know, it's the whole, you never know until it happens to you kind of thing."

"And it did, and I made it through."

"By the skin of your teeth."

Chris just rubbed her back as they went back to being quiet. She was still softly crying against his chest, if the tears soaking through his thin hospital gown were any indication. He just let her cry, knowing that they were probably tears of relief rather than tears of sadness. She let her hand fall on his chest, and he put his hand with the cast over it, rubbing her fingers with his fingers, which were sticking out of the plaster on his arm.

"You better now?"

"Now that you're awake I am," she whispered.

"Good, do you want to hand me the phone so that I can call the boys?"

She nodded against his chest and sat up, reaching over to grab the phone and dialed her father's cell phone number. She handed the phone to Chris, letting him hold it in his good hand. He smiled down at Stephanie and tenderly kissed her forehead as he listened the ringing on the phone. Stephanie was playing with the edge of the blanket while he waited for the phone to be answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Vinnie, is that you?"

"Chris?" came the shocked reply.

"In the flesh."

"You're awake!"

"It would seem so," Chris laughed. "Stephanie informed me that you have my boys."

"Yes, they're here, they just ate dinner. Did you want to talk to them?"

"No Vince, I've just been catatonic for four days, there's no chance I would want to talk to my sons," Chris said sarcastically.

"Well, I see that the floor didn't knock out your sense of humor," Vince said, but Chris could tell that he was joking around. Actually, Vince sounded rather relieved to hear that he was awake. "Let me just get the boys."

Chris waited on the line, leaning his head down a little to kiss the top of Stephanie's head. She gave him a soft kiss against his neck, glad that he could feel it and that he was actually here. She had never been so terrified in her life.

"Hello?" Reid's voice came over the phone.

"Hey kiddo," Chris said happily. "What's shakin bacon?"

"Daddy?" Reid asked incredulously.

"Who else would it be?" Chris asked with a smile.

"Daddy!" Reid yelled. "Are you feeling better?"

"I could be better," Chris said. "Where's your brother?"

"Bugging me," Reid said, like only a kid could say about his little brother. "He won't leave me alone Daddy."

"He just likes you kiddo, so I really miss you guys and I would be really, really happy if you came to see me, I haven't seen you in four days, and I miss you."

"I missed you too Daddy, but Mommy said that you were sick and sleeping all the time and we shouldn't bother you. Did Mommy say it was okay for us to come?"

"Yeah, I don't think Mommy will mind if you come over," Chris said, smiling down at Stephanie. She got up off the bed and mouthed that she was going to go tell one of the nurses on staff that he had woken up. He nodded and let her go. She paused at the door a moment and smiled, and he felt like he had seen her in that position before, standing in a doorway, staring at him.

"Cool!" Reid exclaimed happily. "Bren wants to talk to you Daddy."

"Put him on," Chris said and heard the shuffling of the phone being passed between his sons.

"Daddy?" came the small voice.

"Uh huh, it's me."

"Daddy!" Brennan screamed, very much in the same fashion that Reid had. "Where you?"

"I'm right here, where are you?" he asked, joking around with him.

"Here," Brennan answered with a laugh. "Come here."

"You can come here, ask Grandpa Vince to bring you over, tell him that Daddy said it was ok to come over even though it's almost bedtime."

"Okay," Brennan said, and Chris could hear him turn away from the phone and presumably to Vince, "We go to Daddy, he says so."

"Ok, let me talk to him," Vince said, taking the phone. "Did you want to see the boys Chris?"

"Well yeah, and Steph isn't really in the mood to leave me alone right now, so I think that if the boys are here, she can at least feel like she can get something to eat. She told me she's been here for four days."

"Yeah, and when she wasn't there, she made her mother sit there with you, or your parents, she made sure someone was there," Vince informed him.

"I figured," Chris said. "I just don't want her to have to spend another night in the hospital in that uncomfortable chair."

"You know she's going to anyways right? I mean, the hospital tried to get her to leave when visiting hours were over that first evening and she made me practically buy the hospital so she could stay with you."

"I'm not surprised, get an idea into the woman's head and good luck trying to get it out."

"You know, we were all worried about you," Vince said, turning serious. "I mean, really worried. And we're looking at that cage to see if it was faulty or if there was something wrong with it, what happened shouldn't have happened."

"Well, look on the bright side Vince, I'm not going to sue you because that would be like suing myself," Chris said with a laugh, trying to ease the guilt that Vince was obviously feeling. "I think it really was just a freak thing, sometimes people just lose their balance, it happens."

"It shouldn't have happened," Vince told him firmly. "I had to watch my son-in-law fall off that cage, and then my daughter…I didn't like it, and I'll try and see if anything caused it."

"Okay then," Chris said, knowing that arguing with a McMahon was oftentimes fruitless. He had been married to Stephanie for almost eight years; he knew this point very, very well.

"We'll bring the boys over right now," Vince said, "I'm glad you're awake Chris."

"Thanks Vince."

Chris hung up the phone, turning a little, which caused him to wince in pain. Stephanie came in moments later with the doctor who decided his chief concern was to poke and prod Chris and make sure that he was going to be fine. Luckily everything seemed to be in order and there were no body parts missing. He asked the doctor if it was possible he could sit up so his sons wouldn't have to see him lying down like some really sick person.

He said it would be okay and Stephanie went to help him, gathering up as many pillows as she could. It was a slow process, what with the immobility that Chris was experiencing. Eventually though, they got some pillows behind his back and he was able to sit up, albeit painfully. But he wasn't going to let his sons see him looking sick if he could help it.

"How is that?" Stephanie asked.

"I think I'll be ok for tonight," Chris said. "And I want you to go home with the boys Stephanie. I want you to get a good night's sleep in a bed, a real bed."

"No," Stephanie said. "I'm not going to be leaving you even for one minute, not tonight, no way, no how."

"Stephanie," Chris said, his voice firm. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable for another night."

"I don't care Chris," Stephanie said. "I'll sleep where I want to sleep, and you can't say anything about it."

"I see you two picked up right where you left off," Vince said as he walked inside. "I just wanted to make sure that everything was fine and the boys could come in if they wanted to."

"Yeah Vince, send them in," Chris said.

"Okay, and it's good to see you Chris."

Vince exited for a moment and then walked back inside, ushering the two little boys into the room. They looked nervous until they saw Chris smiling at them. Reid rushed over and grinned happily. Brennan ran straight to Stephanie, holding his arms up to her as she picked him up easily. As much as they hadn't seen Chris, they hadn't seen Stephanie either and Brennan was just as anxious to see his Mommy as he was to see his Daddy.

"Hey Daddy!" Reid said eagerly, grinning and then looking at him with a furrowed brow. "You don't look good Daddy."

"Well thanks," Chris said sarcastically. "You don't look so good either kiddo."

"I always look good Daddy," Reid said, just like Chris had taught him to say.

"I've created a monster," Chris sighed dramatically as he reached out his good hand to ruffle Reid's hair. "Did you miss me kiddo?"

"Yeah, you were gone for like ever," he said, dragging his words out dramatically. "And Mommy said that we couldn't see you, why couldn't we see you Daddy?"

"Because I was asleep most of the time," Chris told him. "Would you have wanted to see me sleeping?"

"No, that's no fun," Reid said in distaste. "That would be boring."

"Yeah, and Mommy didn't want you to be bored," he told his oldest son. He turned to Brennan. "Hey Bren, did you have fun with Grandpa and Grandma?"

"Uh huh," the little boy nodded.

"Are you happy to see Daddy?" Stephanie asked the little boy.

"Uh huh," Brennan nodded again. "Happy."

"Daddy, were you hurt?" Reid asked. "You look hurt."

"Yeah, I got hurt," Chris said, then held up his hand. "But look at this, I have a cast on my hand just like you did when you fell out of the tree in the backyard."

"So Mommy got mad at you too?" Reid asked, glancing at Stephanie.

"Yeah, she did, that's why she was always here with me," Chris lied. He didn't want his sons knowing how bad it had gotten. They were little and they didn't need to know what had gone on. He was just protecting them from the truth. He yawned a little bit and Stephanie noticed.

"Okay, how about we get out of here and let Daddy sleep okay, and then hopefully tomorrow we can finally all go home," Stephanie said.

"You don't have to go," Chris told them.

"No, you need your rest."

"All I've been doing is resting."

"Chris, don't argue with me," Stephanie said. "We're going to go. Are you going to be okay by yourself? Because if you need me to stay, I will absolutely stay with you, do you need me to stay with you?"

"I'll be fine babe," Chris said, beckoning her towards him. She leaned down and he gave her a kiss and she closed her eyes and sighed against his lips. He tousled Brennan's hair as he pulled away and Stephanie set Brennan down so she could hoist Reid up to give Chris a hug before they left. It was soon after that Chris fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't dream of anything.

THE END


End file.
